Who Wants to Live Forever
by TessaStarDean
Summary: A new detective joins the team, and not everyone is happy about it. But she has secrets of her own, and they're not what anyone was expecting. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm a little nervous about bringing this story to this fandom. It originally started with Fighting for Salvation, though you do not have to have read that to enjoy this. I really do hope you guys will give this a chance, and that you'll enjoy it as well. Thanks to JaydenBell for agreeing to help me out with this one.**

"Mac," Sinclair greeted as the detective walked into his office. "I'm glad you could make it.

"I got the feeling this meeting wasn't optional."

"It's not. But I figured I'd be polite anyway."

"What's this about?" Mac asked as he took a seat facing the Chief of Detectives.

Sinclair perched on the corner of his desk. "I have a proposition for you."

"Alright."

"You've been chosen to head a new team. Something akin to Major Case, but utilizing your team of CSIs. You'd handle the big cases, the complicated ones, and the sensitive ones."

Mac's eyes narrowed. "That sounds like I'd be playing a lot of politics. And you don't like the way I play politics."

"True. But you're good, Mac. And that's what we need more than anything right now. This city is awash with criminals, and the public is sick of hearing about unsolved cases."

The detective thought for a minute. "How do I know you're not going to just throw me to the wolves with the first big case?"

"Because the _last_ thing this department needs right now is to be fighting with itself. It gives us a bad image."

"A lot of things give us a bad image, Brig."

"Look. Here's the deal. You head the team – which you get to choose. And you get your own floor of 1 PP all to yourselves."

"I get to pick my own team?" Mac asked, his tone slightly suspicious.

Sinclair held up a finger. "All except one. You can have all of your CSIs, and you can pick one Homicide detective. And I imagine you'll be choosing Don Flack."

Mac crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing. "Are you telling me I can't have Detective Angell as well?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you," he said, standing up and moving behind his desk again. "I'm giving you everything, Mac. Except this one team member. She'll be Flack's new partner."

"My team's not going to like that."

"Your team doesn't have a choice," he said flatly. "Look, Mac. I'm not sticking you with a dud. She's good at what she does. But I want her on your team, and there's no reason for you to have three detectives." Sinclair leaned forward, raising his eyes to meet Mac's. "So…are you in?"

He took a deep breath. "I'm in."

The chief nodded. "Good. Your new detective's name is Ava Connelly. She's a transfer from L.A."

"Can I see her file?"

"No."

Mac frowned. "Why not?"

Sinclair sighed. "Mac, I know there's a lot about this situation that you're not going to like. But you can't see Connelly's file."

"Why not?"

"Because it wouldn't do you any good." Mac opened his mouth to ask another question, but Sinclair held up a hand and cut him off. "All you get is a letter from her last boss."

That pulled him up short. "A letter?"

He gave him a small smile. "More like a list of recommendations. For handling Connelly."

"I thought you said she was good at her job."

"Oh, she is, Mac. She is. But that doesn't mean she's not a handful." Sinclair handed him a white envelope. "She'll be here in a week. You have until then to get your team on board and moved."

Mac stood up and shook the other man's hand. "Thanks, Brig."

"I'm not gonna lie – the city and the mayor expect a lot from you."

"We're up to it."

"I hope so. And Mac?" The detective turned around as he reached the doorway. "Good luck."

He nodded and left the room.

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"You wanted to see me?" Jess asked as she walked into the office.

Mac nodded, gesturing for her to take a seat. "I need to talk to you."

She gave him a nervous smile. "That doesn't sound good."

He took a seat in the chair next to her, his discomfort obvious. "The Chief of D's is giving me a new position. I'm heading up a CSI Major Case squad." He paused. "He's letting me choose my own team – except that I can only have one Homicide detective."

Angell pressed her lips together. "And you're choosing Flack."

"Yes."

She nodded slowly. "It's okay, Mac. I get it. And you should choose him – he's been with the team longer, he's part of the family –"

"So are you," he said firmly, cutting her off. "I don't like this, Jess. If I'd have had my way, I'd have taken you both with me. You know that."

She gave him a sad smile. "I do." Taking a deep breath, she looked around the room. "So I'm losing my partner, huh?." She paused. "You'll watch his back, though, right? I'm not sure I like the idea of him running around alone –"

"He'll have a new partner," he said quietly.

Jess frowned. "What?"

Mac sighed. "The reason I can't take you with us. The Chief is handing me a new detective that I have to take. She'll be partnered with Don."

Her voice was hushed. "Oh."

"I'm sorry, Jess. My hands are tied."

She nodded, standing up slowly. "It's okay." Looking around, she blinked back tears. "Was there anything else?"

Mac stood up as well. "I haven't told anyone else yet."

"I'll keep it quiet. When does this big move happen?"

"A week."

"Wow," she chuckled dryly. "Not wasting any time, are they?" She stuck out her hand. "It's been great working with you, Mac."

Staring at her for a moment, he took her hand and held it. Then he pulled her closer, giving her a tight hug.

"You're a great cop, Jess. Don't ever forget that."

They pulled back, and she gave him a watery smile. "Thanks. I, uh…I should go."

Mac nodded. "Right."

She opened her mouth to say something else, but then thought better of it. Nodding once more, she turned and left the office. Mac watched her go with a heavy heart, inwardly cursing Sinclair for breaking up his team.

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"You gotta be kiddin' me!" Danny exclaimed.

Mac sighed as he looked around at the members of his team. Their initial excitement about the new assignment had quickly turned into anger and confusion. He had given Stella a heads up earlier, but he could tell that the news still wasn't settling well with her. Lindsay, Hawkes, Sid and Adam were just sitting there quietly, letting Danny voice their outrage for them.

But it was Flack that he was most concerned with. The tall detective had gone silent at the news that he would be partnered with someone new, and now his eyes were locked on the floor as he leaned against a wall, hands deep in his pockets.

"I'm sorry," Mac said, feeling as though he were repeating himself. "There's nothing I can do about it. We're getting a new team member, and we can't keep Angell. That's all there is to it."

"But –"

"Danny," Stella said, her voice warning.

The younger detective stopped, shifting uncomfortably as he tried to find another outlet for his anger.

"So who is it?" Adam asked quietly. "The new detective."

Mac took a deep breath, thankful for question after the demands for answers. "Her name is Ava Connelly. She's from Los Angeles. She's young, but she's tough."

"That's it?" Lindsay asked.

"It's all you really need to know. If she chooses to share anything else, that's her choice."

"When do we meet her?"

"She'll be here next week. Until then, we need to focus on getting our lab and our evidence moved over safely. We can worry about Connelly when she gets here."

"And this comes straight from Sinclair?" Hawkes asked.

"He gave me my orders," Mac confirmed.

Sheldon stood. "Then that's the way it is."

The others took their cue from him and slowly moved out of the office. Flack and Stella were the last to go, and she rested a hand on his arm as he moved past her.

"Don –"

He just shook his head. "I gotta go talk to Jess."

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"So tomorrow's the big day," Jess said as she walked up to Flack's desk.

He looked up from the box he was filling with his stuff. "Yeah, I guess so."

She sighed. "I thought I told you to stop feeling guilty."

"You did," he admitted. "But it's not just that, Jess. You're my partner. We work well together. I don't want someone new."

"Neither do I," she said quietly. "I would love to be moving with you, Flack. But it's just not in the cards. So let's make the best of it, okay?"

Don nodded. "Any word yet on who you're gettin'?"

"Yeah. Guy from the two-seven. Greene, I think."

Flack frowned. "Ed?"

"Yeah, you heard of him?"

He nodded. "Good man. Good cop."

"Well that's a relief," she replied, a small smile on her face. "Now are you gonna promise me you'll be nice to the new chick?"

"I'll try. But that's about the best you're gonna get outta me right now."

"Then that's what I'll take." She stood up and hugged him tightly. "Don't be a stranger, okay? You can always come over and buy a girl a drink."

Flack chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind." He picked up his box and looked around. "I guess I'll see ya."

Jess watched him walk away, trying to keep her mind off of the empty desk beside hers.

"See ya," she whispered.

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"So where's the new girl?" Danny asked as he and Lindsay walked into Mac's office. Everyone else was already there, having gotten the essentials unpacked at their own desks.

"You're not going to keep calling her that, are you?" Lindsay asked. Her tone suggested she heard the name far too many times.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, holding his hands up exaggeratedly. "Would you prefer I called her 'Miss Ava'?"

There was a sound at the door, and they all turned to see a young woman leaning against the frame. "Connelly works just fine," she said.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful feedback. I do hope you guys will continue to enjoy the story. As always, thanks to my wonderful beta :)**

**Disclaimer: Only Ava belongs to me.**

"Awkward silence," Ava muttered. "I always did know how to command a crowd." She nodded at Mac. "Are you Detective Taylor?"

"I am." He stepped forward and shook her hand. "You must be my new detective."

"The one we know precious little about," Danny observed.

There was a tired look in Ava's eyes as she glanced over at him and shrugged. "Woman of mystery."

"Lucky us."

Lindsay nudged him in the ribs, signaling for him to shut up. Mac cleared his throat, trying to change the course of the conversation.

"Ava, I'd like you to meet Stella Bonasera, Danny Messer, Lindsay Monroe, Sheldon Hawkes, Sid Hammerback, and Adam Ross." She shook each of their hands in turn, and she didn't miss the hard look in Danny's eyes as he stared at her. "And this," Mac said, cutting into her thoughts, "is Don Flack – your partner."

Flack was still standing a little apart, watching Ava carefully. When Mac introduced them, though, his manners kicked in and he stepped forward, shaking her hand firmly. Ava noticed that his touch was gentle as well as firm, and she got the distinct impression she had been partnered with a good man.

"Nice to meet you," she said quietly.

"You too," he said, nodding his head slightly.

She knew that wasn't exactly true. If the tension in the room was anything to go by, she had interrupted something, and the look in Don's eyes told her that he wasn't quite sure how he felt about having a new partner yet. Inwardly sighing, she filed that away for another day.

"Flack will take you to the office you'll share. Why don't you get settled in and then come see me?" Mac suggested.

Ava nodded. "Sounds good."

The room slowly emptied, with most of the team nodding politely at Ava as they passed. Don was the last one to go, and she followed him out into the hall. They were silent as they walked, neither entirely sure of what to say to the other. But as he led her into an office with two desks inside and window looking out onto the busy city, Ava finally broke the silence.

"So how long have you been working with Taylor?" she asked.

He shrugged, picking up a file that someone had left next to his phone. "About six years. He's one of the best. Cares about his people, takes care of 'em. Good man, and the best boss I've ever had."

She nodded. "That's pretty much what I heard."

"What about you?" he asked, looking up. "Mac said you're from out west. L.A.P.D.?"

Her face tightened. "Not exactly." When Flack gave her a questioning look, she held up a hand. "Another story for another day. Trust me."

He watched her for a moment as she slid her short jacket off and hung it on the back of her chair. "I just need to know you can do your job."

Ava looked up, a small smile tugging at her lips. "I've got your back," she said quietly.

Don opened his mouth to respond, but his phone went off before he had the chance. As he answered, Ava moved around her desk, setting her purse in the bottom drawer and running her hands over the blotter. Then she turned and looked out the window, enjoying the view of her new home. New York was a different kind of crowded from L.A., and she was already appreciating that difference.

"Looks like you'll have to get settled in later," Flack said as he flipped his phone shut.

"Oh?"

"We got a DB in Midtown. You game?"

She nodded, her eyes lingering over the city even as she turned to grab her jacket. "Always."

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Ava quickly decided that questioning witnesses was not her favorite part of the job. A woman had been stabbed to death in the middle of the day, and not a single person had seen anything. Handing a card with her number on it to the person she was questioning, she turned back and looked down at the body once again.

"You okay?" Lindsay asked, glancing up from where she was collecting evidence.

"Yeah. Why?"

She shrugged. "You've kinda got that look. Almost like it's the first time you've seen a dead body."

Ava shook her head. "I've seen lots of dead bodies," she admitted quietly. "I'm just not used to ones as peaceful as this."

Lindsay frowned. "A stabbing in Midtown is peaceful?"

But Ava wasn't listening anymore. Stepping away from the body, she moved closer to the edge of the crime scene, her eyes locked on Stella. The C.S.I. was questioning a potential witness, nodding and taking down whatever information he could tell her. But Ava kept her eyes locked on the man's body language, and something about it bothered her. Vaguely, she heard Lindsay calling her name behind her; she just continued to move forward though, her pace slow and deliberate.

She was almost too late. Her gaze drifted down to the man's left wrist, which was deep in his pocket, and she suddenly realized that he was gripping something – most likely a weapon.

"Stella!" she snapped, reaching an arm out to pull the C.S.I. back.

She managed to get between Stella and the witness just in time. His arm shot out of his pocket, and Ava caught a glint of silver in the sunlight. Then there was a searing pain in her right wrist, and she cursed aloud.

Without even thinking it through, Ava used her left hand to grab his wrist, and she twisted it up and behind him. The knife clattered to the pavement and he fell to his knees, crying out. Keeping her hold on him tight, she looked over at her right hand, grimacing at the blood that was sliding down her arm.

Flack had his gun out, staring in wide-eyed disbelief. "What the hell…"

"If it's not too much trouble, do you think you could cuff this bastard?" Ava asked.

As her partner put the attacker in restraints, Stella was at her side instantly, taking a hold of her wrist and inspecting it.

"It look like it just went through the skin on the side. But you might need stitches, and we'll want to make sure no nerves were hit." She paused as the medics came closer. "You saved my life," she said quietly. "That knife would have gone right –"

Ava gently pulled her hand out of Stella's grasp and moved toward the ambulance. "Woulda looked bad if one of you guys got hurt on my first case," she said over her shoulder.

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"So you'll live."

Ava looked up to see Flack standing in front of her hospital bed. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets and his expression was tight.

She nodded. "Doc says I'll be fine." Holding up her wrist, she showed him the bandage. "Barely even a scratch."

"Stitches?"

"Nope." Hopping down from the bed, she slid her coat on and walked towards him. "Ready to go back to work?"

He watched her warily. "You're sure you're okay?"

Smiling, Ava walked past him. "Takes a hell of a lot more than knife wound to keep me down."

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"What are you doing back here?" Mac demanded as he caught up to Ava in the hallway of the lab.

She stopped and turned to face him, frowning in confusion. "I'm working."

"You were injured. Stella just told me what happened."

"And I got checked out by a doctor. I'm fine."

"And I would appreciate it if you would clear that with me. Your shooting hand was injured, and I need to make sure you're alright before I send you back out with your partner."

She sighed and began to walk away again. "Then read the E.R. report and let me do my job."

Mac surged forward, catching up with her and taking a hold of her arm, forcing her to stop and face him again.

"That's not how this works, Connelly –"

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't bring back a doctor's note and clear everything with you. But I'm fine." She pulled her arm out of his grasp and held it up so he could see her wrist; she opened and closed her hand and wiggled her fingers. "I didn't even need stitches. But for future reference, I know how much my body can handle. Unless it's enough to keep me in a hospital bed with wires and IVs sticking out of me, I'm gonna get up and do my job."

Mac's expression hardened, and he opened his mouth to respond, only to be interrupted by his cell phone ringing. Sighing, he pointed a finger at her as he pulled the phone out of his pocket.

"This isn't over."

Ava rolled her eyes and headed for her office. "Whatever."

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"That didn't look like it went too well," Flack commented as she walked into their office.

Ava shrugged and sat down at her desk. "We had a misunderstanding."

"He's not trying to come down on you. He just runs a tight ship."

"I'm noticing."

He leaned back in his chair, regarding her for a minute. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"Huh?"

"You saved Stella's life when you pushed her outta the way. She's a good friend of mine, so…thanks."

Ava nodded. "No problem."

Mac walked into the room then, a determined look on his face and a piece of paper clutched in his right hand.

"I have a few things I need to say to you," he said, closing the door behind him.

Flack sat up. "You need me to leave?"

"No, you should hear this, too." He looked at Ava again. "I don't like your attitude. I'm not used to people talking back to me like that, and I don't like it." He sighed, some of the tension easing out of him. "But I realize that I jumped down your throat, and I should be thanking you for saving Stella's life. So thank you."

"You're welcome," she said quietly.

"You're a member of my team now, though, and when one of my people gets hurt, I want to know how badly before they try and come back to work. So just give me a heads up, okay?"

"I can do that."

Mac nodded. "Good. When Sinclair told me that you would be joining my team, I asked him for your file."

Something flashed in Ava's eyes. "And did you get it?"

"No. All I got was a letter from Bill Buchanan, your old boss."

Ava frowned. "A letter?"

"More like a list of recommendations for dealing you." He held up the piece of paper. "Would you like to hear them?"

"I would, actually."

He unfolded the letter and began to read. "To Ava's new supervisor – I want you to know that your team is getting a good woman with Ava Connelly, but you're also getting a handful. In lieu of her file, I thought a list of suggestions for dealing with her might help to ease the transition process." Mac paused and glanced up to see an amused smirk on Ava's face. "One - don't bother with trying to get her to adhere to a dress code. Jeans and sneakers are the norm for her, and she makes compelling arguments about being able to run suspects down more easily in comfortable clothing. Just let it go. Two – unless the doctors tell you that it is imperative that she stay, don't try to keep her at the hospital. She's a fast healer, and she has a tolerance for pain that still astounds me. Three – she's a lot stronger than she looks. Just keep that in mind. And four – don't ask how many guns she has on her at any given time. It will only upset you."

By the time he finished reading, Ava was having a hard time holding in her laughter.

"Something you'd like to share?" he asked.

She nodded, pulling her own piece of paper out of a drawer. "Bill gave me a list as well." She glanced up to make sure both men were paying attention, and then she began to read aloud. "One – I've read up on Mac Taylor, and you're getting a good man for a boss. Be nice to him, and try not to vex him too much. You know what I'm talking about. Two – racist white trash have constitutional rights, too. Three – you are now required to get things like search warrants. Don't forget this. Four – switchblades are illegal in the state of New York, both to possess and carry. And five – try not to punch a suspect, or a coworker, for that matter, unless absolutely necessary."

When she finished, she looked up to see both men staring at her. Feeling a slow blush creep up her neck, she shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a handful."

"Obviously," Flack laughed. He nodded, his expression sobering. "Sounds like I got a partner who can take care of herself, though. I'm grateful for that."

Ava looked at Mac. "Think we can make this work?"

He took his time refolding the paper before meeting her eyes, a small smile on his lips. "We'll work something out."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Slight crossover with 24 here, though it's not imperative to know that for the story. But Curtis is Curtis Manning from 24. Hope you enjoy!**

"Oh my," Ava murmured. "Somebody really wanted this guy dead."

Flack raised an eyebrow at her. "Understatement of the year. The guy's face is gone!"

"A .50 caliber bullet in the nose will do that."

Ava's head snapped up at the familiar voice, and a smile spread across her face. "Curtis!"

"Hey, Connelly," the big black man greeted, his eyes tired.

"What are you doing at my crime scene? And on this side of the tape?"

"You should remember that tape doesn't mean anything to us."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." Remembering that they weren't alone, she pointed at her partner. "Curtis, this is my new partner, Don Flack. Don, this is Curtis," she hesitated, "an old friend."

The two men shook hands.

"Cop?" Flack asked.

"Federal agent."

The detectives eyebrows shot up as Ava frowned.

"Which begs the question…" she said, letting in hang in the air between them.

"Two of my men were here when it went down." When Ava and Flack just stared at him, he shrugged. "Guy's a suspected terrorist."

"So you've already got the doer in custody?" Don asked.

"I wish. Crowded street. We lost sight of him for just a second, next thing we hear is a loud gunshot and everybody went running."

"What is it with this city?" Ava asked. "People getting killed in the middle of the street left and right."

"What, they don't do that in L.A.?" Flack retorted.

"Hell no. Too damn hot outside."

He chuckled at that. "Well I'm gonna go question some witnesses." He nodded at Curtis. "Nice to meet you."

"You too." The big man looked back at Ava with a smirk. "So that's Flack."

"Yes. Now you can put a face with a name. Happy?"

Curtis shrugged. "We havin' dinner tonight?"

"Of course. I get off at six."

"Hey, Connelly," Danny called, walking over. "You gonna work or just stand there flirtin'?"

She turned and glared at him. "What? I'm not allowed to have dinner with a friend now?"

The C.S.I. looked at her skeptically. "A friend?"

"Yes. Unlike you, I don't need to sleep with every member of the opposite sex that I speak to."

Danny just glared at her and continued taking pictures of the scene.

"I take it that's Messer. You weren't exaggerating when you called him an asshole."

Ava rolled her eyes. "Please. You should hear half the things he says to me. I was accused of sleeping with one of the lab techs last week just because I told him to have a nice day."

"You wouldn't have taken that kind of crap back in L.A.," he said quietly.

"Things were different in L.A." She shook her head. "Look, am I gonna have to kick your ass for interfering with my investigation?"

"You know, you almost sound like a real cop."

"Bite me."

Curtis laughed. "That's my girl. And no, we have no intention of interfering. But we would like to be kept in the loop. There's a good chance this guy was taken out by a higher up, if you get my meaning."

She nodded. "Who was he working for?"

"Carlos Ambrosia."

"I hate that guy."

"Not sure there's anyone in the world who actually loves him."

"His mother might."

Curtis shook his head. "Doubtful. Bastard put a bullet in her head last month."

"You're kidding me."

"Wish I was."

"So the current thought is that Ambrosia called a hit?"

"It's at least a damn good possibility."

"Alright then. We'll catch the terrorist and let you have him when we're done with him."

Curtis looked at her in amusement. "You think a bunch of cops can find him before CTU can?"

"I do."

"Would you like to bet on that?"

"How's a hundred sound?"

"You're on." He looked around. "I gotta head back to the office. I'll see you tonight, okay?"

"Yeah. And Curtis?" He turned back to look at her. "Don't stop at the bar on your way over, okay?"

They stared at each other for a long minute before he simply nodded and walked away.

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"Did we get much from the crime scene?" Ava asked as she and Flack drove back towards the lab.

He smirked. "You were standing there while Danny was tellin' us, weren't you?"

She sighed. "Yeah, but it was Danny talking, so we know I wasn't listening that hard. Plus, I don't do the science stuff. Makes no sense to me."

"I hear ya. But no…there wasn't much at the scene. The slug probably collapsed on contact, so we can't expect much from that either."

"Witnesses?"

"Apparently no one saw anything. And the ones who did, all saw different things."

"Well I found out something interesting."

"Oh yeah?"

"The people I talked to? They got a text message asking them to be there at a certain time. Explains the crowd."

Flack frowned. "You get the number?"

"Of course. I am a detective after all, and I detected."

He watched her for a moment while they were stopped at a red light. When they were allowed to go forward again, he started talking again.

"I think I mighta figured somethin' out about you."

Ava laughed. "I didn't know you were trying to figure me out."

He shrugged. "Well, Mac didn't tell us much about you. Got the impression it was 'cause he didn't know. And you don't seem big with the life story sharin'…"

"I'm the mystery of the lab, huh?"

"Yep. Any chance you wanna clear some stuff up? Might make some people warm up to ya faster."

"You're friendly enough."

"Yeah, but what about everybody else?"

"Lindsay's nice."

"And Adam and Stella and Mac don't know what to do with ya, and Messer…"

"Hates me."

"Yeah, kinda."

"Do you happen to know why that is?"

"He doesn't handle change real well."

"I've noticed." She paused, looking out the window. "So what's this thing you've figured out?"

It took him a moment to answer. "I don't think you were just a cop in L.A."

Ava watched him carefully. "And why's that?"

He shrugged. "Little things. Like the way you don't react to bodies."

"Neither do you. Comes with the territory."

"It's different with you. It's like…you've seen a helluva lot worse."

"Maybe I have."

"It's not just that either, though…" He struggled for a moment. "Your eyes slide right past 'em sometimes. It's not like you can't stand the sight of 'em, it's like…like you're just so damn tired of seein' 'em."

She stared out the window as she answered him. "I've seen a lot of death, Don. And it's been more up-close and personal than most people could imagine. At this point…it's just sad."

"Hey." He waited until she looked at him. "Don't forget you're not alone in this, okay?"

She just gave him a tight smile and turned back to her window.

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"A month! A month and I hear _nothing_ from you!"

Danny stopped in his tracks in the middle of the corridor. The voice was coming from Flack's office, and he moved closer, his curiosity burning. When he looked through partially open door, he saw Ava and another woman standing there, apparently in the middle of an argument.

Ava sighed. "Jen –"

"No! You don't get to just explain this away. I've called you over and over and over again. I've called Curtis. Neither of you has answered, so I flew out here. What the HELL is going on!?"

"I've been busy."

"Right. Throwing yourself into work, _playing_ cop, and trying to forget everything you left behind in L.A."

"I left behind a lot of things in L.A., Jen. And I don't think I'm likely to forget any of them."

"No. Especially not with his cross hanging around your neck. I'm actually impressed that you're not wearing your ring anymore."

"That would have brought too many questions."

Jen shook her head. "What are you doing here, Ava? Running from your ghosts or chasing them down?"

"Is there really a difference?"

"In the way this ends, yeah." Jen paused, taking a deep breath. "How much do they know? Your team? Your partner?"

Ava shrugged, looking through files on her desk. "They know I can do my job. That's all they need to know."

"And if your ghosts gets one of them killed?"

The detective stiffened. "I wouldn't let that happen."

"You can't control the consequences of your actions. You're not God, Ava."

Danny frowned as he stepped away from the office. The two women kept talking, but he had heard enough. Turning, he headed for Mac's office.

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"Adam."

The C.S.I. jumped slightly as Ava strode into the room. When he saw who it was, though, he gave her a small smile.

"Hey, Ava. What's up?"

"You were running that phone number for me – the one the text came from?"

"Right." He frowned. "And I got nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. I traced the number back and it goes to a prepaid cell."

"But you could get a location, couldn't you? By triangulating the signal?"

"Well, yeah. If you were on the phone with him…"

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone before taking the number out of Adam's hand. Without any hesitation, she started dialing.

"Shouldn't you, uh…talk to Mac first? You know…before calling the bad guy?"

"Would take too long," she explained as the phone rang. Hitting the speakerphone button, she set it down on the table in front of them.

Someone picked up on the other end. "Talk to me."

Ava smiled as she recognized the voice. "Ambrosia. It's been a long time."

"You sound familiar."

"I damn well should. I've been chasin' your ass for three years now."

There was a pause. "Connelly," he growled.

"Glad you haven't forgotten me."

"Where did you get this number?"

"From your little stunt this morning. I gotta say, Carlos, blowing a guy's head off with a .50 caliber gun isn't exactly what I'd call subtle."

"How the hell –"

"Let's cut the crap. I'm in New York. You're in New York. And now I've got a dead body that has your name written all over it. I'm comin' for you, Ambrosia, and come hell or high water, I'm taking you down."

"Come anywhere near me or my men and I'll kill you, you bitch."

Ava smiled coldly. "You don't understand, Carlos…" She looked up, and Adam nodded to her. "I'm already on my way."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm warning you now - there are bad words in this chapter. A huge thanks as always to Jen and JaydenBell!!!**

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Adam and Ava both looked up to see Mac storming into the lab, followed by Danny and Flack. Glancing over at the C.S.I. beside her, Ava noticed how he tensed up, and she knew that she was going to have to handle this on her own. She stepped forward, placing herself between the irate detective and Adam.

"Trying to catch the bad guy."

"By taunting him?"

"Look, I know Ambrosia. I dealt with him back in L.A. This is the quickest way to pull him out of the woodwork."

"And the quickest way to endanger my team and this investigation!"

"I didn't endanger –"

"What if he comes after you?"

"Then he comes after me and I take him down. End of story."

Mac pointed behind him. "And if one of them gets caught in the cross-fire?"

"They won't –"

"Do you know what I've realized about you, Connelly? You're dangerous. You think you're invincible, and you run off half-cocked. I'm not going to let you get one of my people killed!"

She stared at him for a long moment, her expression hardening. "Then I'll go alone," she said quietly. Brushing past him, she headed for the door, but turned back at the last second. "Don't worry about your team, Taylor. Ambrosia knows me, and he knows I'm the one that called. He's coming for me. And when I take him down, we'll have one less drug lord running the streets of New York."

With that, she turned and walked out of the room. All four men stared after her, but Flack was the first to act, moving to follow her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mac asked.

Don sighed and faced him. "Look, Mac. Whether you like it or not, she's my partner. And I can't let her go off alone just because Ambrosia is after her. In fact, that's one of the reasons I _can't_ let her go alone."

Mac only hesitated for a second before giving a sharp nod. "You're right. Go. But be careful, Flack. There's no telling how pissed Ambrosia is after that call."

"She's a loose cannon," Danny muttered.

Mac ignored him and turned to Adam. "Did you get anything else on that number?"

"Uh, no. I got a location, but that's where Ava and Flack are headed now." Adam paused. "Are you sure you don't want to send backup with them?"

"Ambrosia probably tossed the phone as soon as he hung up," Danny commented.

"Yeah, but…" He turned and typed a few things into the computer, bringing up a new screen. "I've checked this guy out, Mac. He's no joke."

The detective leaned over his shoulder, peering at the information. His eyes scanned over the words quickly, a cold knot forming in the pit of his stomach.

"Danny, get Stella and meet me downstairs."

"What? Why –"

"Just do it!" He turned back to the screen, his voice lowering. "I don't want this guy getting his hands on Ava and Flack."

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"This doesn't look promising," Ava commented as she slowed the SUV to a stop.

She and Flack both got out of the vehicle and found themselves in an alley, with nothing but a dented dumpster against one wall.

"You sure this is it?" he asked.

She shrugged. "It's the location Ross found. I'm guessing Ambrosia dumped the phone as soon as he hung up."

Flack nodded. "So one of us needs to go in there." When Ava crossed her arms and just stared at him, he shook his head. "No way."

"You're the guy. This is so your job."

"I'm wearin' a suit!"

"I'm wearing my favorite jeans!"

Flack gave her a dirty look. "Were they expensive?"

"No…"

He pointed to his suit. "This was."

Ava stared at him for a minute and then just sighed. "You suck, you know that?"

"If you're nice, I'll treat you to lunch."

"I'm climbing into a dumpster. I don't think I have to be nice to deserve free food."

"Point taken."

She climbed up and lifted the lid, looking inside with a disgusted expression. "Ew." Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out a pair of gloves and slipped them on as her eyes roamed over the trash. Finally, she spotted the phone.

"Aha!"

"Find it?"

"I might even be able to reach it without getting in."

She used one arm to brace herself as she leaned in, her waist folding over the lip of the dumpster. Flack watched her carefully, wincing slightly as her feet left the ground and she tilted farther forward.

"You're gonna fall," he called out.

"Got it!" He expected her to climb out then, but she just stayed where she was.

"You coming out Connelly?"

"Uh, in a second."

Flack crossed his arms and smirked at her. "There a problem?"

"No…"

"Oh really? You just love the smell of dumpster in the morning?"

"You're a mean man."

He chuckled. "Sorry, Connelly. You want help, you're gonna have to ask."

She wiggled a little bit, but then finally sighed. "Fine. I'm stuck."

He couldn't help but laugh out loud at that. Stepping forward, he hooked an arm around her stomach and pulled her back, setting her gently on the ground. Not quite meeting his eyes, Ava pulled her shirt down and held out the phone.

"See? Told you I could get it."

"You needed help out, though."

"Not my fault the dumpster is built for tall people. Yet another reason why YOU should have gone in."

Before Flack could respond, a shrill ringing filled the alley. They both stared at the phone in Ava's hand for a second before she realized that it was her own phone ringing. Handing Ambrosia's phone to Flack, she pulled off her gloves and pulled out her own phone, putting it on speaker as she answered it.

"Connelly."

"Hey, it's Curtis."

"My favorite federal agent. What's up?"

"Did you piss Ambrosia off?"

Flack looked at her pointedly as she sighed. "Maybe. Why?"

"Because we've picked up some chatter. He's not too happy with you."

"I get a feeling he's never really happy."

"Even so. I think you should come in. Maybe we can figure out how to take this guy down together."

She thought about it for a moment. "Alright. Let me drop Flack back off at the lab and then I'll come in, okay?"

"What?" Flack exclaimed. "No way!"

"See you soon," Curtis said before hanging up.

Ava closed her phone and headed for the car. But before she got there, Flack caught up to her, grabbing her elbow and spinning her around.

"I am NOT leaving you," he growled.

"And this is NOT your fight," she snapped back.

"It is," he said firmly. "You're my partner, and that makes it my fight."

"Ambrosia is dangerous," she reasoned. "I've seen the bodies he's left in his wake. It's not pretty, Don. And I don't want to put you at risk."

"So I'm just supposed to sit at my desk and let you go fight the bad guys alone?"

"I can handle this," she said quietly.

Flack stared at her for a moment. "Look, either you take me with you, or you drop me off and I get right back in the car and follow you. I'm not letting you do this alone."

Ava sighed, glaring at him. "I am seriously contemplating punching you right now."

"Wouldn't do any good," he smiled. "I'd just follow you as soon as I regained consciousness."

She pulled her arm out of her grasp. "Fine. You wanna come? You can come. But don't blame me if you get shot at."

They climbed back into the SUV, with Ava once again behind the wheel. Flack noticed that and smirked at her.

"Got control issues, Connelly?"

"Excuse me?"

"You always drive."

"Does it bother you?"

"Not at all," he told her. "I was just wondering why it was a habit."

She shrugged. "I've had my fair share of car chases, and I prefer to be behind the wheel when that happens."

He nodded. "Fair enough." He paused. "So how did you meet Curtis?"

She hesitated for just a second. "We worked together on some cases."

"And?"

"And what?"

"You're kinda evasive about personal questions, you know that?"

She gave him a smile. "Makes me interesting. Besides –"

She stopped as something in the rearview mirror caught her attention. Her smile faded and her eyes narrowed. Flack noticed the difference immediately and glanced in his own mirror.

"What's wrong?"

"We've got company."

His eyes went back to his mirror. "Black Tahoe?"

"Yep."

"Friends of yours?"

"I've really only pissed off one criminal kingpin since moving to New York."

"So what's the plan?"

The other car sped up suddenly, pulling up alongside them. Ava looked to her left to see one of the passengers leveling an automatic weapon at her. Without hesitation, she swerved the car to the right, wincing at the gunshots that followed her. She heard them hit the car, but none made their way through yet. Moving over another lane, she stepped on the gas and surged forward. As she opened her mouth to say something to Flack, though, something slammed into them from behind, forcing her to lurch forward.

"Fuck!" she spat. Glancing in her mirror again, she let out a longer stream of curses. "There's two of them. They're tag teaming us."

Don already had his phone out. "Mac! Ambrosia's men are chasin' us."

"We're almost to the location Adam gave us," his boss replied. "Where are you?"

"Not far. Just get out on Vanderbilt and you'll find us. We're the three big SUVs playin' tag."

Ava chuckled as she changed lanes again, their speed still increasing. "Tag, huh?"

He shrugged. "It works." He nodded out her window. "They're back."

Ava had nowhere to go this time. She had gotten trapped in a pocket of a traffic, and swerving would have meant taking out at least two cars, and she wasn't quite willing to do that. As bullets erupted from the automatic weapon, both she and Flack ducked, trying to make themselves into the smallest targets possible amidst the shattering glass.

"Lean back," Don hissed when the gunfire stopped.

Ava did as she was told and saw that he had pulled his own weapon out. His aim wasn't great coming out of a moving car, but it was enough to force the other car back out of range. Glancing in her mirrors, she saw that both vehicles were still close though, and guns were once again being pointed at them.

"Screw this," she muttered. She turned to Flack. "Take the wheel."

"What?"

"Take the wheel!"

He grabbed a hold of it, and they moved around each other awkwardly as Ava made her way into the passenger's seat.

"I thought you liked to be in control!"

She gave him a grim smile as she punched the button for the sun roof. "I do."

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"There they are!" Danny shouted.

Mac stepped on the gas, moving closer to the swerving SUVs. Grabbing his phone, he dialed quickly.

"Stella, you see them?"

"Yeah. I'm right behind you."

"Good. Take the one on the left. Do whatever you can to keep them from getting those two, okay?"

"Will do."

"And for God's sake, be careful."

"You too, Mac."

"Mac, they're takin' another shot," Danny called.

The detective surged forward, ramming into the back of the Tahoe. The shooter lost his aim and looked back at them, fury on his face. Turning around, he pointed the gun at them instead.

"Oh shit," Danny muttered. Then his eyes lifted to Ava and Flack's vehicle again. "Oh shit," he repeated, louder this time.

Mac looked up as well and watched in shock as Ava appeared through the sun roof of the SUV. Weapon in hand, she took careful aim at the vehicle right behind them and opened fire, cracking the bulletproof glass. Fed up with her shooting, the driver swerved out of reach, only to slam back into the side of the car. The force of the hit knocked Ava to the side, her gun falling to the street below.

"Mac, she's an open target –" Danny started.

But Ava had already righted herself. The two men watched in amazement as she crossed her arms and reached inside of her jacket; seconds later she was pulling out two large handguns and aiming them at her pursuers.

"What the hell are those?" Danny asked.

Mac pulled away from the other vehicles and out of Ava's path. "Nothing we want to get in the way of."

Ava took careful aim at the Tahoe in front of her. Instead of shooting the windshield this time, though, she went for the tires. Two shots and she hit one, setting the SUV careening to the side. Without pausing to see the damage, she immediately turned to the other vehicle and did the same thing. This time the tire she hit blew out completely, sending the Tahoe up onto its side and sliding across the pavement.

Mac and Stella brought their vehicles to a stop and all three C.S.I.s were out immediately, making sure that the shooters stayed down. Flack slowed down as well, and Ava pulled herself out onto the roof of the car, re-holstering her weapons.

"A few car chases, huh?" Flack asked as he got out and stared up at her.

"A few." She jumped down as Mac moved over to them. "I don't suppose any of those were Ambrosia?"

He shook his head. "Just henchmen. Disposable."

"Carlos hates losing, though. This'll piss him off even more." She paused. "I'm glad you guys showed up when you did, though."

"That was some fancy shooting," Stella observed, coming over to join them. "I think you might have been fine without us." Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Ava's arm. "Are you bleeding?"

The detective looked down at her upper arm. "Yeah. One of the bullets grazed me. I'm fine." When they all just stared at her, she parted the rip in her jacket to show them. "See? Barely a scratch. I got lucky."

"It was a fuckin' miracle you didn't get your head blown off," Flack muttered.

"Hey, you did some nice work too. I might just let you drive during the next car chase."

"Gee, thanks."

"Let's get these guys back to the lab," Mac interrupted. "I want to question them. And I'm sure Sinclair is going to want to yell at me."

Ava shrugged. "Just tell him I did it."

"I intend to."

As he and Stella turned and walked away, Ava turned to Flack. "You still owe me lunch, you know that, right?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "C'mon, we'll hit a drive thru on the way back."

She rolled her eyes as she climbed into the passenger's seat. "You really know how to charm a girl, don't you?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I am really glad I got this out before Thanksgiving. Anyway, thanks to my wonderful betas (Jen and JaydenBell), and thanks to all of you who are reading. Hopefully a little light is shed on Ava here.**

"You okay?" Ava asked as she and Flack walked into their office.

He shrugged, slipping off his suit jacket and slinging it over the chair. "Yeah."

"Liar."

He gave her a rueful glance. "Fine. It's not every day my partner gets shot at while she's hangin' out a sunroof."

Ava regarded him for a moment, and when she spoke, her voice didn't carry its usual flippant tone. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Flack sighed. "I know that. You're just used to kickin' ass and takin' names."

She gave him a small smile. "Something like that."

"I want to see your guns."

They both turned to see Mac standing in the doorway, an angry look on his face. Ava frowned at him.

"Our guns?"

"Not Don's." He pointed at her. "Yours."

Still frowning, she slowly reached into her holster and pulled out her service weapon, holding it up for him to see before setting it down on the desk in front of her.

"Any particular reason you need to see it?"

"Not your service weapon," Mac clarified. "I want to see all of them. I want to know how many guns you have on you and I want to know where you keep them."

She stared at him for a moment. "I thought that letter from Buchanan said –"

"I don't give a damn about his 'rules.' You're on my team now, and I need to know how armed you are."

"Fine."

She reached behind her and pulled a Glock 9mm out of her waistband. Maintaining eye contact with Mac, she lifted her right foot onto the desk and lifted up her pant leg, and showed them another holster. She pulled that gun out as well and set it next to the first two. Lastly, she slipped off her jacket, revealing a double shoulder holster; from those she pulled out two .50 caliber Desert Eagles and laid them down on either end of the other guns.

"Happy?" she asked.

"Holy shit," Flack muttered.

Mac stared at the guns in disbelief. "Why would you need all this fire power?"

Ava shrugged. "I've found it prudent in the past to have a couple of backups. Today just reinforced that theory." She sighed. "I've got permits for all of 'em, Mac. Nothing here is illegal."

He nodded. "Just keep them out of sight. I don't want everyone to know you're packing enough heat to blow Midtown sky high."

She gave him a small smile. "Geez, Mac. I just took down two SUVs."

"This time." He paused, seemingly debating with himself. "I'm glad you're alright, Connelly. But Ambrosia is still out there, and I'm betting that now he wants your head. So be a little more careful, okay?"

"I'll try."

Mac shook his head. "Somehow, I doubt that."

Shaking his head again, he turned and left the office. Ava watched him go and then turned to find Flack staring at her.

"What?"

"You're insane, you know that, right?"

"Does it bother you?" she asked. "That I carry so many?"

Don shook his head and grinned at her. "You kiddin'? I got the coolest partner ever."

Ava couldn't help but smile back. "The feeling's mutual, Don."

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"Hey, Connelly!"

Ava turned when she heard her name called down the street, and hastily swallowed the rest of her hot dog. Her eyes narrowed when she saw a petite brunette storming towards her, and it only took her a moment to recognize her from Lindsay's description. Jessica Angell did _not_ look happy.

"Can I help you?" Ava asked.

"Yeah, you could help me. By not trying to get my partner killed."

"Your partner?"

"Don Flack. He's a good man, in case you haven't noticed, and he doesn't need some crazy bitch dragging him along and getting him killed!"

Ava's good mood rapidly disappeared. "Oh, I knew who we were talking about. But he's not _your_ partner anymore. He's mine."

"Yeah, and I'm still trying to figure that out. What makes you so damn special that they threw me off the team and gave you my spot? Who the hell are you sleeping with?"

Ava raised an eyebrow. "Worried that it might be your partner?"

Angell froze, her face mottled with rage. "You stay the hell away from him," she hissed. "He may play nice with you, but that's only because that's the kind of man he is. He doesn't want you to feel guilty because you replaced his real partner." She paused, looking Ava up and down. "I don't know what's hiding in your past. But he doesn't need you dragging him down with you."

She looked like she wanted to say more, but instead she just turned around and walked away. Ava watched her go, the anger building up inside of her. Pulling out her cell phone, she quickly dialed a number she knew by heart.

"Bill? I need a couple favors."

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She didn't even bother knocking on the door. When she saw that Mac was inside talking with Sinclair, she simply opened the door and walked in.

"Excuse me –" the Chief of Detectives started.

"I need to talk to you."

Mac raised his eyebrows. "Should I leave?"

"No," she answered, not even looking at him. "This concerns you too."

Sinclair sighed. "What seems to be the problem, Connelly? New team not treating you right?"

"They're a little reserved, but that's to be expected." She turned to Mac. "Unless, of course, you're here to complain about me."

"Detective Taylor was simply demanding that I give him your file. He thinks the amount of guns you carry on your person are evidence that you weren't a cop back in L.A."

"We can deal with that in a minute. For now, we need to talk about Detective Angell."

Sinclair frowned. "What about her?"

"For starters? Why did you kick her off of Taylor's team?"

"I owed Bill Buchanan a favor. He wanted you put with my best. So that's what I did. The decision to cut Detective Angell was Mac's –"

"No," she cut him off. "You may have told him it was, but you knew exactly who he'd choose and who he'd let go." She placed her palms down on his desk and leaned forward. "You see, Sinclair, I have friends, too. And I decided to do a little digging. Seems you've had more than a couple problems with Angell's father – who also happens to be a cop."

Sinclair stood up straighter. "I don't think I like where you're going with this."

"Good. You're not supposed to." She stood back up as well and crossed her arms. "I want Jessica Angell put back on Mac's team."

"Absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"Because I've made my decision –"

She shrugged. "Then I'll go above you."

Sinclair stopped, his eyes hardening. "Watch it, Connelly. You are speaking to a superior officer –"

"You won't fire me." Both men stared at her in disbelief. "I know what kind of favor you owe Bill Buchanan. And you can't risk getting rid of me for anything less than incompetence or gross negligence. So put Jessica Angell back on the team and let's put this nasty little incident behind us."

"And what am I supposed to do with you? Get another detective to be your partner?"

She shook her head. "I don't need a partner." She turned to Mac. "Get your team together. There are a few things I need to say. Some things I need to clear up."

"Wait –"

"Mac. Please."

He saw something in her eyes that made him back off, and he nodded. "Alright."

"Thanks. I'll be there in a few."

When Mac was gone, she turned back to Sinclair, who was already pointing at her, a hateful look in his eyes.

"Don't you _ever_ talk to me like that again. Especially not in front of another cop!"

"Don't keep another cop down just because you can't stand her father. It's bad politics, Brig. And it makes you look like an ass."

He shook his head. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

She ignored the question. "Look, I have one more request. But this one I have authorization for." She nodded at his phone. "Call Bill. He'll let you know."

Glaring at her, he picked up the phone and began to dial. "Are you just going to stand there?"

Ava shrugged. "This won't take long."

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"What's goin' on, Mac?" Danny asked as they all sat in the break room.

He glanced at the clock on the wall. "Ava asked me to call you all together. I'm sure she'll be here in a minute."

"Connelly's callin' meetings now? What the hell?"

"Could you be nice, for like, five seconds?" Flack asked. "What the hell is your problem with her, anyway?"

"My problem?" Danny retorted, his voice rising. "You want me to pick just one? She thinks she's fuckin' God Almighty. But I guess you're too busy flirtin' with her to realize that!"

"Danny!" Lindsay scolded, her voice sharp.

"What? It's the truth!"

"You know what, Messer? Why don't you just –"

"Geez. I leave you guys for a few months and you're at each other's throats?"

They all stopped and turned to see Angell standing in the doorway.

"Jess?" Adam asked. "What are you doing here?"

She looked at Mac and shrugged. "My CO told me I was coming back to your team and sent me over here. I thought maybe you had something to do with that."

The detective shook his head. "I wish I could take credit for that. But it wasn't me. It was Connelly."

Angell stopped. "What?"

"She went off on Sinclair. Told him to put you back on the team, and she wouldn't take no for an answer."

Flack frowned. "So…Connelly's leavin'?" he asked slowly.

"Nah. You're all still stuck with me." Ava stood in the doorway as well, leaning against the frame.

Mac nodded at her. "Glad you could join us. And Angell, I'm glad to have you back." He paused. "But we are _not_ playing musical partners. Ava and Flack work well together, and they're going to continue to be partners."

Ava shook her head. "But –"

"But nothing," he cut her off. "You and Flack will stay together. Angell, I'm going to put you with Adam, if that's okay with you. He's been going out into the field more, but I'd feel better if he had a detective with him."

Jess smiled at Adam and nodded. "That works for me," she said quietly. "I'm just glad to be with you guys again."

Mac turned to Ava. "Now, you called this little meeting. And I'm guessing it's for more than just welcoming Angell back."

Ava nodded slowly. "I know you guys have a few problems with me. I know that one of them was that I took Angell's place. But she's back now. I know that another of them…was that you don't really know anything about me. And I haven't exactly been forthcoming with the information. But we work together, and you should at least know the basics. So…" She held up a folder in her left hand. "I got my file from Sinclair. It's thin – a lot of the stuff is classified. But it should help a little." She walked across the room and tossed the file onto the table in front of Mac. "You can share whatever's in there with the rest of them. Just give it back to Brig when you're done."

She turned and left the room, not making eye contact with any of them. They all watched her go, and then Stella turned to Mac.

"So what does it say?"

He opened the file, his eyes skimming over the information on the first page. He thumbed through some of the other pages, some of Ava's actions and attitudes clicking into place. Her medical write-up almost made him choke, but it explained a few things. He would read it more carefully later, but for now, Mac had most of the information he needed.

"Well?" Hawkes asked.

"For starters, there's a reason she has no qualms about having gunfights in the middle of the street. She's been shot twenty-seven times. And those are just the ones that broke skin."

"What?" Flack exclaimed.

"No way," Danny countered. "No cop gets shot that many times. I don't care where the hell they're from."

"Well that's the other thing," Mac said, looking him in the eye. "Ava Connelly wasn't a cop out in L.A. She was a federal agent with the Counter Terrorist Unit."


	6. Chapter 6

"So what else is in there?"

Mac looked up to see Stella standing in the doorway to his office. Giving her a small smile, he leaned back in his chair.

"What makes you think there's more?"

She rolled her eyes and came all the way in, shutting the door behind her. "Because I know you, Mac. You wouldn't give everyone else the information until you'd had time to process it." She sat across from him. "So what else is in there?"

"I'm starting to think you know me too well, Stella."

"No such thing."

He chuckled at that and leaned forward. "Alright. For starters, she's young. She turns twenty-eight in a few months."

Stella's eyes widened. "How does someone that young get to be a federal agent?"

"From what I can tell, she was handpicked by a CTU director. She happened to get involved with a hostage situation and helped him out, and then he offered her a job."

"Wow. How many years did she spend there?"

"About four. Obviously everything about her missions is confidential, so we won't get more information on those unless it comes directly from her."

"I'm not sure she'd be up for a chat about those right now."

"Agreed." Mac kept reading the file and frowned. "Both of her parents are dead. Looks like her mom was killed in a car accident when she was a teenager. Her father…it just says 'deceased' and references another part of the file." He flipped through it. "Which isn't here."

"Which means it's confidential," Stella pointed out.

"And that means it had something to do with national security."

She leaned back, a thoughtful expression on her face. "This girl just gets more and more interesting as we go, doesn't she?"

Mac nodded. "She does. There are couple of notes in here about flouting authority. Seems not a lot has changed in that department."

"She wasn't brought up through normal chains, Mac, and I think that explains a lot of it. She's not going to stand by while someone above her makes a stupid mistake, and she's not going to take crap from anyone." Stella shrugged. "And she's really good at what she does. I imagine that outweighed her discipline problems in the end."

Mac looked at his friend closely. "You like her, don't you?"

Stella thought for a long minute. "At first, she really pissed me off. She's cocky, and she runs around like she owns the world. But…she saved my life, Mac. With no regard for any injuries that she might incur. And she was back on the job without missing a beat. She's more than capable when it comes to her job, and I feel better knowing that she's watching out for Flack. She's abrasive, but at the same time…what she did for Angell today was a huge step toward trying to make amends. I get the feeling that there's a lot going on inside of that girl, and she's struggling to hold it all together, to find her way in a world that she used to understand. It's a big change from federal agent to New York cop, and there had to be a catalyst." She gave him a long look. "And I get the feeling it's haunting her."

88888888888888888888

Ava was staring out the window at the city below when there was a knock on her office door. Giving her thoughts a moment to dissipate, she turned slowly, only slightly surprised when she saw Angell standing there.

"Hey."

"Hey."

The other detective looked down, her hands shoved into her pockets. When she looked up again, though, she locked eyes with Ava, and her voice was clear.

"What you did for me…I didn't see that coming. And you had no reason to do it, not after the things I said to you."

"You're a part of this team, Jess. More so than I could ever be. They wanted you back – and you were right about Don. I'm sorry, I thought Mac would put the two of you back together –"

"No," Angell cut in. "I was wrong about Don. You're his partner now, and he likes working with you. Mac did the right thing in keeping you together."

Ava sat on the windowsill and crossed her arms. "For the record, I'm not sleeping with him."

"I know that. Though I am curious as to how you landed this gig."

She shrugged. "Sinclair owed my boss a favor, and I needed a change of scenery."

Jess raised an eyebrow. "Oh, there's definitely more to that story."

Ava gave her a rueful look. "So…you're partnered with Adam now. That's not a bad deal."

"No, no it's not."

She narrowed her eyes at the detective. "I see that blush. Do I detect a small crush on the cute and geeky scientist?"

"Bite me," Jess replied, despite the grin on her face.

Ava laughed. "That's what I thought."

888888888888888888888888

Flack sighed as he walked into the bar. It had been another long day, with another hard case, and all he really wanted right then was a stiff drink. As he glanced around the room, though, his eyes landed on a familiar face, and he frowned, taking in the circles under her eyes and the slump in her shoulders. Angling toward the corner of the counter, he caught the bartender's attention.

"Hey, Detective. What can I do for you?"

Flack nodded down the bar. "How long she been here, Mike?"

"Couple hours."

"She in here a lot?"

The bartender nodded. "Almost every night."

Flack's frown deepened. "I didn't take her for a heavy drinker."

"Oh, she's not usually drinkin' when she's in here."

"Whaddya mean?"

"She comes in and picks up her friend. He's the one that's trashed on a nightly basis."

"You catch the guy's name?"

Mike thought for a minute. "Curtis, I think she said. Big black guy. You can't miss him."

"Yeah," Flack said absently. "I know who you're talkin' about." He paused. "How far gone is she?"

"I just cut her off. She's pretty far in the tank."

Flack patted his shoulder. "Thanks, man."

"No problem."

As the other man walked away, Flack moved down the bar and took a stool next to his friend, ordering a soda.

"Connelly," he said slowly. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"That's me. Full of surprises." She didn't even look at him. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "Long day. And my apartment's just a few blocks away. What are you doing here?"

She finished the shot in front of her, making a face as it went down. "I just got out of Mass."

"Most people don't go out drinkin' after church."

"I'm not most people."

He gave her a faint smile. "So I've noticed." For a minute, he debated on going any further, but finally his curiosity got the better of him. "You got a problem with God right now?" he asked.

Ava sniffed. "He took something of mine and I'd like it back."

"Don't think it works that way."

"So I've noticed." She shook her head, finally looking at Flack. "Why are you here, Don?"

"I already told ya –"

"You didn't have to sit down. You could have turned around and walked away."

His gaze locked with hers. "You're my partner," he said quietly. Then he looked down, playing with the straw in his drink. "Unless you were tryin' to get away from me earlier. When you got Angell her place back…it sounded like you were expectin' Mac to split us up."

"I was. But that wasn't because of you, Don. I just…I thought you'd be happier with her."

"I'm happy with you."

"I'm difficult."

He couldn't help but laugh at that. "Hell yeah, you are. But I like you, Connelly. And I like workin' with ya."

"That's what I don't get," she protested. "Nobody else likes me –"

"That ain't true," he objected. "Stella likes you. Adam likes you. I'm bettin' Jess is okay with ya right now. Monroe likes you."

"And Mac? Danny?"

"I already told ya. Mac just doesn't know what to do with you."

"Danny hates me."

Flack narrowed his eyes at her. "Yeah. And that's not the first time you've mentioned it."

She shrugged, staring down at her empty glass. "I don't like being hated," she said quietly.

"Okay. Maybe you could try to be a little nicer then. It's your attitude he doesn't like –"

"You know something, Don? I'm not even sure I remember how to not be a bitch anymore. It almost comes naturally."

He smirked at her. "You mean you weren't always like this?"

"Oh, I've always been difficult. But I think I used to be friendlier."

"Then what changed?"

She shrugged. "What's the point?" she whispered. "You lose them all in the end anyway." She sniffed, looking around and feeling into her pockets for money. "I should go."

He nodded. "Good idea. Let's get you home."

"You don't –"

"I'm takin' you home, Connelly. Deal with it."

She was too tired to argue. "Thank you."

888888888888888888888

Ava fell asleep in the cab, and Flack couldn't help but watch her. There was no denying that his partner was one of the strongest women he'd ever known, but it was becoming increasingly evident that she was also one of the most broken. Knowing that she had been a federal agent, he figured that she had seen things that he couldn't even dream of. But he also knew that it went a hell of a lot deeper than that. There was a pain she was carrying that she didn't want anybody else to see. He wanted to help her, to be her friend, but he just wasn't sure that she was going to let him in.

She had given him her address just before passing out, and as the cab pulled up to the building, Flack stared at it in disbelief. This was no run-of-the-mill New York apartment. He could never afford a place like this, and he wondered how Ava did.

Opening the door, he pulled himself out of the cab first before reaching in and lifting her out. She fit easily into his arms, and she was lighter than he was expecting. He kicked the door shut and made his way to her building, where he was stopped by a doorman.

"Can I help you sir?"

Flack nodded at the sleeping woman in his arms. "This charming young lady is Ava Connelly. I'm not sure what floor she lives on."

The older man frowned. "Yes, that's Ms. Connelly. But I don't know who you are, sir."

"I'm a cop."

"All the same, sir, let me call up and see if Ms. Connelly's roommate is in."

He stepped away and used a phone next to the door. The call only took a minute, and then he was back, smiling apologetically at Flack.

"Yes, sir. Ms. Newman says to bring her right up. Third floor, apartment nine."

"Thank you."

When the elevators deposited him on the third floor, Flack found himself face-to-face with a worried young woman.

"Oh, God," she groaned.

"You're Jen, right?" Flack asked.

"Yeah, and I'm guessing you're her partner. Can you bring her to the apartment?"

"Sure."

He followed her down the hall, and found himself walking into a very large apartment. He didn't have much time to look around, though, as Jen led him straight back to a bedroom, stepping aside so that he could get in.

"Just set her on the bed, please."

Don did so, and then stepped back, watching as Jen took off her friend's shoes and pulled the blanket up over her. Almost immediately, a small black cat jumped up onto the bed, sniffing at Ava before curling up next to her and closing its eyes. Flack felt his nose immediately begin to itch, but he was glad he didn't sneeze – he really didn't want to wake Ava up.

"Come on," Jen whispered. She led him back out into the living room before turning around, her hands shoved into her back pockets. "Thanks," she said. "I was wondering when she'd finally break and crawl into the bottom of a bottle."

Flack frowned. "What's wrong with her?"

She hesitated. "How much has she told you?"

"All I know is that she was a fed, and that she's got some anger issues with God."

Jen opened her mouth a few times, but eventually sighed and shook her head. "I can't tell you, Flack."

"Why not?"

"Because I just met you. Because it's not my story to tell. Because she'll kill me. She's my best friend. And even though I think she should tell someone, it's not my place to tell you for her. If you really wanna know, you'll have to ask her."

"I get the feeling she won't tell me."

"Maybe not at first. But she's starting to trust you. Believe it or not, she talks about you guys when she comes home. I know that she wants Mac's respect, that she wants Danny to stop hating her…and that you've been nothing but helpful since she got partnered with you. She thinks of you as a friend, even if she doesn't always open up."

Flack nodded, taking a deep breath. "So basically I just gotta bug her until she breaks?"

Jen smiled. "Exactly." She glanced down toward the bedroom. "Thanks for bringing her home."

"No problem. Tell her I'll see her in the morning, okay?"

She nodded, walking him over to the door. "Will do."

He stopped, turning back briefly. "Is it really that bad? The things she's runnin' from?"

Jen met his eyes, her face sober. "Worse than you could imagine."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Huge thanks to my beta, and my apologies if I get any of the science wrong on this one. **

"Well look who's finally awake."

Ava glared at her friend as she shuffled into the kitchen. Without responding, she opened up a cabinet and pulled down the box of Fruity Pebbles.

"I'm impressed," Jen said. "I was expecting chocolate for breakfast."

Ava grunted. "We're out of Cookie Crisp."

"Poor baby."

"Is there any chance we could save the mocking for later?"

"But it's more fun when you're hung over." Ava gave her the finger, and she just laughed. "Fine, fine. Mocking to be postponed."

"Thank you."

Jen watched her friend pour her cereal into a large bowl. "So, I met Flack last night."

Ava frowned. "I thought we agreed -"

"I agreed to no mocking. I said nothing of prying."

The detective sighed. "Fine. So you met Flack."

"He's hot."

Ava chuckled. "I'm glad you noticed."

"Any human being with eyes and half a pulse would notice."

"Point taken."

Jen sat on the arm of the couch. "He's sweet, too. Carried you all the way upstairs and put you to bed."

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"I know what you're doing."

"Okay. So what am I doing?"

Ava gave her a pointed look. "I don't need you hooking me up with some guy."

"'Some guy'?" Jen asked, her voice rising. "This isn't some guy. He's your unbelievably hot partner who just happens to be a great guy on top of it."

"I'm not ready, Jen."

"To date someone? I can understand that." She got up, moving closer to her friend. "But to think about the possibility that there might _be_ someone?" Jen squeezed her arm. "It's been eight months, Ava."

For a minute, they just stared at each other. Then Ava's phone rang and she pulled her gaze away, thankful for the interruption.

"Connelly." She listened for a minute and then nodded. "I'm on my way."

Jen sighed as her friend hung up. "Work?"

"Dead body near Rockefeller Center. Apparently high priority." She gave her cereal a rueful glance. "Guess that means you get to eat my breakfast."

"Can't let Fruity Pebbles go to waste." As Ava turned and headed for her bedroom, Jen called out to her. "Will you at least think about what I said?"

Ava glanced back, studying her friend carefully. "How are you so sure that I'd even consider dating Don?"

"You let him carry you," she said quietly. "Anybody else, you would have stayed awake in that cab, and you would have walked yourself up here, no matter how drunk you were. But you let your guard down with him. You let him take care of you."

Dropping her gaze, Ava turned and walked into her room.

**********************************

"Flack."

Ava smiled as she made her way down the sidewalk, her cell phone pressed to her ear. "Hey."

"Hey, partner. How ya feelin' today?"

"I made it home in one piece. Jen tells me that's because of you."

"Is that your way of sayin' 'thank you,' Connelly?"

She rolled her eyes. "I mean it, Don. Thanks."

"No problem." He paused. "You do know you owe me some explanations though, right?"

"I was hoping we could hold off on that."

"Only for so long, Connelly. You're gonna hafta open up to someone eventually. I was sorta hopin' you and me could be friends," he added quietly.

"We are," she said firmly. "I just...I'm not ready yet."

"I get that. But like I said, eventually..."

"Yeah, yeah," she smiled. "You on your way to the crime scene?"

"I'm at court today, remember?"

"Crap, I forgot. This probably means I have to work with Messer."

Flack chuckled. "You could just as easily end up with Mac and Stella."

"My luck doesn't run that way." Someone bumped into her suddenly, harder than the rest of the crowd, and forced her to stumble to the side. "Ow!"

"You okay?"

She rubbed at her side. "Dammit," she hissed.

"Connelly, talk to me."

"I'm fine," she muttered. "Some jackass just bumped into me. Must've had a pen or something in his bag and it poked me."

She could feel his smirk through the phone. "You tellin' me you can take bullets and stab wounds, but a poke in your side hurt?"

"Bite me, Detective."

That made him laugh. "I'll call ya when I get done here, okay? See where you're at?"

"Sounds good. Hopefully Danny and I will have refrained from killing each other."

"I'll make a deal with ya. I won't kill any defense lawyers, and you don't kill Messer."

"That sounds taxing on both of us."

"Would probably make Mac happy, though."

Ava sighed. "I guess I could try."

Flack grinned. "That's my girl."

****************************************

"So what've we got?" Ava asked as she ducked under the crime scene tape.

"'Bout time you showed up," Danny commented, not even looking up from the body.

She just ignored his barb. "Seriously. What've we got?"

He sighed and stood up. "Our DOA is Melissa Perkins. Twenty-three years old, with an address on the Lower East side."

"C.O.D.?"

"Doc thinks it might be an overdose. Needle marks."

Ava nodded, pulling out her note pad. "So what's the big rush? When Lindsay called me, she said this was top priority."

Danny pointed, and her gaze followed, settling on a bag a few feet away from the victim.

"Diaper bag," he said simply.

Ava closed her eyes. "We've got a missing kid," she whispered. "I'll start questioning witnesses."

But that turned out to be useless. No one had seen anything - or at least, no one was willing to admit that they had seen anything. That alone made Ava suspicious. If the girl had just collapsed of a drug overdose, and the baby snatched, wouldn't someone step forward?

She sighed as she stepped away from yet another person who hadn't seen or heard anything suspicious. Scribbling some useless notes down in her pad, she raised her head, scanning the crowd for someone else to talk to. Just as she settled on the businessman standing close to the tape she stopped, her eyes locking on a familiar face.

Ava stared in disbelief and blinked a few times, hoping the person would just disappear. But the face just remained there, a cocky smirk playing across her lips as she stared at the detective. Ava could feel sweat popping out on her forehead, and her hands were shaking, even as her heart rate accelerated.

"What the hell?" she murmured, her throat painfully dry.

Without another thought, she plunged into the crowd, pushing past people in an effort to get to the person. But just before she reached her, she tripped over someone's foot, and lost her balance. Her arms shot out and she caught herself just in time, her palms slamming into the pavement. Cursing under breath, she pushed herself back up, but the person was gone.

Breathing hard, and hands still shaking, Ava pulled out her phone, dialing quickly.

"Manning."

"Curtis?"

"Ava? You okay? You sound...upset."

"I need to ask you a question."

"Okay."

"And I need the truth."

He frowned. "Of course. What the hell's going on, Connelly?"

She took a shaky breath. "Nina Myers is dead, right?"

There was a pause on the other end. "She's deader than dead, Ava. You should know that better than anybody."

"But there was no way she could fake it, right?"

"Right," he said slowly. "I was with her body when they brought it back to C.T.U. The .50 caliber bullet in her forehead practically ripped her face off."

Her heart almost stopped. "So how do we know it was really her?"

"Ava," he said quietly. "You were staring her right in the face when you pulled the trigger."

She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly as she tried to regain control of herself. "Right. You're right. I know that."

"What's going on, Connelly?"

She shook her head, absently scratching at her side. "I saw someone...but you're right. It couldn't have been her. I must be seeing things."

"Ava -"

"I gotta go. I'll talk to you later." Without waiting for his reply, she snapped the phone shut, once again scanning the crowd. But there was no one there that she recognized this time.

"Hey."

A hand touched her shoulder, and Ava whipped around, one fist in the air as though she were expecting an attack. Danny stepped back quickly, his hands in the air to show her that they were empty. When she stopped and lowered her fist, he frowned at her.

"What the hell is your problem, Connelly?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. What's up?"

"What's up? You ran into the crowd like a crazy woman!"

Ava shrugged. "Thought I saw someone I knew."

Danny just shook his head. "I'm done here. You ready to go or what?"

"Yeah."

She went to walk by him, but Danny caught her arm, holding it tightly as his eyes narrowed at her.

"You sure you're okay, Connelly? You ain't lookin' too hot."

Ava rolled her eyes as she yanked her arm out of his grasp. "You never think I look hot," she muttered, heading for the SUV.

****************************************

She tried to take deep breaths as she walked towards her office. Images of Nina Myers still danced before her eyes, and she just couldn't stop her hands from shaking. It had been so real, the fear, the panic...Ava shook her head. Nina was dead, and she wasn't coming back. She needed to focus on work - they had a dead woman and a missing baby, and that was more than enough to keep her occupied.

She turned to walk into her office and stopped in shock. Her hands were shaking again as she stared at Jack Bauer sitting on the floor, cradling his wife in his arms, blooding soaking through both of their clothes.

"Jack?" she whispered.

When he looked up at her, his eyes were full of anger and hate. "You let my wife die," he growled. "And then you let them take me."

She shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. "I didn't. There was nothing I could do -"

"You left me."

"No, Jack -"

"Every day they torture me. Whips, chains, brands...they burn me and beat me, and what do you do? You run off to New York."

"I had to," she said weakly, a tear coursing down her cheek.

"Why? Because he's dead? I've lost the people that mean the most to me, but that never kept me from doing my job. I never abandoned you - even after you let Teri die. But you...you just left. And now I have suffer every day because you stopped looking for me."

"Chloe is -"

"Right. Leave it all on her shoulders. Did you even think about what she might be carrying?" He shook his head. "I never thought you could be so weak."

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Ava?"

She jumped and turned to find herself face-to-face with Adam. He frowned when he saw the tears on her cheeks.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Hastily, she wiped at her face. "I'm fine."

"Who were you talking to you?"

She glanced into her office, and saw that it was empty. "Nobody. Just...don't worry about it, Adam." She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "You got something for me?"

He nodded, still watching her carefully. "A print in the diaper bag. It's not the mother's."

"You get a hit in CODIS?" she asked, scratching at her side.

"Yeah." Adam handed her a piece of paper. "Print belongs to a Todd Cohen. He's been picked up before for possession with intent to sell, a couple robberies..." He trailed off. "Do you know him?"

Ava nodded. "The name sounds really familiar...I've got some people I can call. Maybe I can get a lead on this guy's location and we can track him down."

"Are you sure you're okay, Ava?" Adam asked, his eyes full of worry.

She gave him a warm smile and rested a hand on his arm. "I'm fine, Adam. Thanks, though."

She turned and walked into her office, shutting the door firmly behind her. Adam just stood there for a minute, a frown on his face. Glancing down at his arm, he touched it with his other hand, amazed at the heat he felt there, and his mind racing with the implications.

Ava wasn't just running a fever - she was burning up.

************************************

"Manning."

Ava leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes as she held the phone to her ear. "It's me."

Curtis sighed. "You scared the shit out of me, you know."

"Sorry."

"Talk to me, Ava."

"Why don't you tell him?" a low voice interrupted.

Ava looked up to see her father sitting on the edge of her desk, a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. Her eyes widened, and her hands started to shake again.

"Ava?" Curtis asked.

"We've got bigger problems right now."

"Bigger problems than you seeing dead people?"

"They're all going to think you're crazy," her father commented.

"I've got a missing kid."

"Yeah, I saw the Amber Alert."

"We got some prints and a name to go along with 'em. I know the name, but I can't place it."

"Who is it?"

"Todd Cohen."

"You're right, that sounds familiar." She heard some tapping, and realized that he was doing a search on his computer. "Shit."

"That doesn't sound good."

"It's not," he told her. "We know Cohen because he's one of Ambrosia's errand boys. Sells his drugs for him, among other things."

"Think you can find him?"

"Cohen?" Curtis thought for a moment. "Yeah. Let me make some calls and I'll get back to you, okay?"

"How long?"

"Give me thirty minutes."

"Talk to you soon." She hung up the phone, her eyes locked on her father. "Get off my desk."

"That's not a nice way to greet your father."

"You're dead."

"And yet you're talking to me. What does that say about you?"

"That I'm going crazy, obviously."

Her father leaned foward, blood oozing out of the bullet hole and streaming down his face. "You really think you can save this child?"

"That's my job."

"You were supposed to save me, too."

"That wasn't my fault. Aiden -"

"You chose your boyfriend over me. You decided that his life was worth more than mine."

Sweat glistening on her forehead, Ava glared up at her father. "It was. And I -" She stopped, her eyes catching a figure passing by the glass walls of her office. Immediately, she was up and out of her seat, racing for the door. But when she got there, the corridor was empty.

"He's dead, too, remember?" her father asked. "Everyone you love dies. You're cursed."

Ava looked at him for a long minute and then walked out of the room, leaving him behind.

*************************************

Adam turned as the door to the lab opened, and he saw Ava coming in. He was struck by how much worse she looked now, even just thirty minutes since he last saw her. Her eyes were tired and haunted, and her face was haggard. Her hands shook, and her eyes darted around the room as though she weren't entirely sure what she might see.

"You really don't look well," he said nervously.

She gave him a faint smile. "I don't feel well. That's why I'm here, actually."

Adam frowned. "Shouldn't you go see a doctor?"

"No time. We've got a baby girl who's missing, Ross. I don't have time to wait around in a doctor's office for him to run tests."

"So...?"

"I need you to take some blood, run some tests."

"I, uh...I'm not sure what diseases to check for. I mean..."

"I don't think it's a disease."

His frown deepened. "Then what is it?"

She lifted her shirt up a little and showed him her side. There was a little inflamed area, and Adam could see a needle mark. "Someone bumped into me on the street this morning. I didn't think anything of it until it started itching like crazy."

"You think...you think you've been poisoned?"

"Yeah."

He nodded. "Okay. I can run your blood through a tox screen." Adam pulled on a pair of gloves and got a syringe. "What uh...what symptoms are you having?"

"You really need to know that?"

He kept his eyes focused on what he was doing as he drew her blood. "It would be kinda helpful."

She nodded. "Fever. Some hallucinations."

"Visual or auditory?"

She hesitated. "Both."

Adam frowned again as he pulled the needle out and Ava rolled down her sleeve. "That's not good, Ava. How realistic are they?"

She shook her head, opening her mouth to answer as her phone rang. Sliding it open, she answered.

"Connelly."

"It's me," Curtis replied.

"What've you got?"

"A probable location on Cohen."

"In the city?"

"Yep. But I'm not telling you where until you promise me you're not going in alone."

Her eyes caught sight of Danny coming towards them. "Deal. I'll take Messer with me."

"You and Messer don't exactly get along."

"Yeah, but we're working the case together."

Curtis sighed. "Alright. He's been working a corner down on 125th Street. Near the train station."

"Thanks."

She hung up and headed for the door.

"Ava!"

She turned back to Adam. "What?"

"Y-you can't go out like this! We don't know what you've been drugged with! It could be lethal. You could drop dead -"

"Missing kid, Adam. We'll just have to take that chance."

"Let me call Mac -"

"You do that. And let me know when you get my results, okay?" Without waiting for a response, she left the room.

"Dammit!" Adam hissed under his breath.

****************************************

"Messer!"

"You look like crap, Connelly," he commented as she ran up to him.

"We got a lead."

His eyebrows shot up. "On the kid?"

"On the guy whose prints were in the bag."

"You got a name?"

"Better. I got a location."

"Let's go then."

They both headed for the elevators, not speaking as they made their way down to the first floor. Heading for the doors, they burst out into the sunlight and moved toward the vehicles. As they turned a corner, something caught Ava's eye and she turned back around, shock and pain on her face.

"Connelly? Connelly!"

She turned at the sound of Danny's voice, her eyes slightly unfocused.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Ava shook her head, trying to clear it. "Nothing."

"Bullshit."

"I'm fine, Danny. I just thought I saw someone I knew."

"Again? Helluva coincidence."

She nodded, glancing behind her again and not seeing anyone familiar. Then she turned back and pulled the keys out of her pocket, tossing them to Danny.

"You drive," she said firmly.

************************************************

Adam didn't even knock on the door. He just burst into Mac's office, his arms flailing as he started to talk.

"We've got a big problem. Huge. Monumental."

Mac frowned, sharing a glance with Flack and Stella. "What is it?"

"It's Ava."

"Spit it out, Ross," Flack said, his eyes filled with concern.

"She, uh...she came to me, a little while ago. Said she wasn't feeling good. Spiking a fever, and uh...hallucinations."

"What?" Mac asked sharply. "Where is she?"

"Running down a lead with Danny."

"You let her leave?" he asked.

Adam's eyes widened. "You wanted me to try and stop her? She's like SuperGirl, or something!"

Stella raised a hand. "Okay, let's just calm down. Adam, you said she came to you. Why?"

He took a deep breath. "She asked me to do a tox screen. She said something about getting jabbed on the street this morning, and she showed me a needle mark in her side -"

"Dammit!" They all turned to look at Don, and he grimaced. "I was on the phone with her when it happened. She thought she just got poked by something sharp in the guy's bag."

"Did you run the tox screen?" Mac asked.

Adam nodded. "Yeah."

"And?" he asked impatiently.

"That's where the problem comes in. I just got the results." He took another breath. "She was drugged, Mac. With PCP. And a hell of a lot of it."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Another long chapter, with lots of action. Hope you enjoy, and once again, huge thanks to my beta, JaydenBell!!!**

"What's goin' on with you?" Danny asked.

Ava just stared out her window. "I'm fine."

He sighed. "Look, I don't know if you actually buy that bullshit you're sellin'. But I sure as hell don't."

She shook her head. "Since when you do give a damn, Messer?"

"Since I'm the one that's gotta work with ya, and it's my ass on the line."

"Just leave it."

"No. You been on edge all day, Connelly. Somethin's obviously wrong, and I gotta know that ya can do your job." He paused, his eyes locked on the road in front of him. "And I wanna know that you're alright -"

"Can we just stop talking?" Ava snapped.

Danny's jaw tightened. "Yeah. Whatever."

He leaned over and flipped on the radio, stopping at the first station that was playing music instead of a talk show. Ava continued to stare out her window, focusing on breathing steadily. She knew that her fever had gone up since leaving the lab, and her vision was starting to go hazy. Whatever she had been drugged with was powerful, and a voice in the back of her head told her that she should be going to the hospital instead of going to question a suspect. But that little voice wasn't enough against the flood of emotions she was feeling - worry for the missing child, and anger at the person who had done this to her. She knew it had been Ambrosia who ordered it, and she fully intended on catching him and throwing him in prison. It was the least he deserved.

Her mind floated briefly, before it latched onto the tune playing on the radio. She frowned, leaning forward slightly as she tried to catch the words against the noise going on inside her head.

_The preacher man said let us bow our heads and pray_

_Lord please lift his soul and heal this hurt_

_Then the congregation all stood up and sang_

_The saddest song that she ever heard_

_Then they handed her a folded up flag _

_And she held on to all she had left of him_

_Oh, and what could've been_

_And then the guns rang out one last shot_

_And it felt like a bullet in her heart_

_Baby, why'd you leave me, why'd you have to go_

_I was counting on forever, now I'll never know_

_I can't even breathe_

_It's like I'm looking from a distance_

_Standing in the background_

_Everybody's saying, he's not coming home now_

_This can't be happening to me_

_This is just a dream_.

The words echoed in her head, crashing into her other racing thoughts, and it felt like she was going to explode. Reaching forward, she angrily turned the radio off and turned again to stare out the window.

"You got a thing against music, too?" Danny asked. When she didn't answer, he just sighed and shook his head. "So what's the plan when find this guy?"

"Just let me handle it," she said quietly.

**********************************

Ava didn't even wait for Danny to throw the SUV into park. She opened her door and hopped out, immediately recognizing Todd Cohen from his picture in the file. He was standing on the corner, trying to look inconspicuous, but to anyone who knew anything, he was obviously dealing. Without a word, she walked right up to him and grabbed his shirt, pulling him with her into a small alley. She ignored his protests and threw him back against a brick wall.

"Todd Cohen," she said.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Danny caught up to them, watching Ava out of the corner of his eye. "This him?" he asked, nodding at Cohen.

"It's him."

"Good." He turned to the dealer. "NYPD. We'd like to ask ya some questions."

"I don't got nothin' to say to you."

"Wrong answer," Ava said.

"Where were you this morning?" Danny asked.

"None of your damn business."

The CSI nodded. "Okay. But maybe you should rethink that answer. 'Cause your prints were found at a murder scene."

"Go to hell," Cohen spat.

Danny continued to question him, but Ava's mind drifted, and their voices faded. The street around her shimmered slightly, making it all seem like it wasn't quite real. She closed her eyes briefly, trying to steady herself and bring her attention back to the conversation at hand.

"He's not going to tell you anything. You know that," a low voice said behind her.

She turned to see Jack Bauer standing there, looking as real as anything else in that alley. But she knew he couldn't be there. He was half a world away, and that was if he was even still alive...

"He's a lowlife, Ava," Jack continued, nodding at Cohen. "He's got information that you need, and you don't have time to play cat and mouse with him. A little girl's life is at stake."

What did he expect her to do? Ava felt the world tilt a little and she clenched her fists, trying to hang on, to stay upright.

"You know what you have to do," Jack said. "You have to convince him that you're scarier than Ambrosia. It's the only way."

She shook her head slightly. She was a detective now - she had to play by a different set of rules. She couldn't just go off on someone...

"Dammit, Ava!" he hissed. "Are you going to let a baby die because of _rules_?"

She shook her head again, swallowing hard. She just needed more time. She needed to get a hold of herself before she did something stupid -

"Do it, Ava!" Jack said firmly.

Danny could handle this, she told herself. He would get the information that they needed and then they would go after Ambrosia. Just a little more time -

"Do it!" he yelled.

Her skin tingled as the world tilted again, this time at a sharper angle. Somewhere in the back of her head, she wondered if they were all going to fall -

"DO IT!"

Reaching into her shoulder holster with her left hand, she pulled out one of her Desert Eagles and aimed it right at Todd Cohen's head. The dealer stopped talking abruptly, his eyes going wide at the barrel he was staring down.

"What the -"

"There is a little girl missing," Ava said quietly, amazed at how steady her hand was, even as she felt the sweat dripping down her forehead. "And you know where she is."

He shook his head. "I c-can't -"

"Ava," Danny said firmly. "Put the gun down."

She clicked the safety off. "Tell me where she is."

"Ava!" Danny yelled. "This isn't the way to do this. Come on, let's take him in, we'll let Mac question him..."

"We don't have time for that."

"Please," Cohen begged. "Don't kill me."

"I can't let you do this, Connelly."

"Yeah?" she asked, her eyes boring into Cohen. "How you gonna stop me?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Danny reaching for his gun. The part of her brain that was still fighting the drug told her that he was only doing what he had to do, that she needed to be stopped. But the rest of her chaotic thoughts had taken over, and they silenced the last bit of logical thinking. Her right hand dipped into her other shoulder holster and pulled out her second gun, aiming it at Danny's head before he could even get to his weapon.

"Don't," she said, still staring at Cohen.

"What're ya doin', Ava?" he asked slowly, his hands raised so that she could see them.

"He knows where the baby is," she explained. "And I can't let you stop me from getting the answer out of him."

"You're not gonna shoot me," he said, his voice confident.

Her eyes slid over to him as she turned the safety off of the gun pointed at him. "Wouldn't I?" Her gaze moved back to Cohen. "Tell me where she is," she repeated.

"He'll kill me!"

She pressed her gun against his head until his skull hit the brick wall behind him. "_I'll_ kill you."

Danny's phone rang suddenly, causing him and Cohen to jump slightly. "You gonna let me answer that?" he asked.

"No." She looked closely at Cohen. "Do you know what a .50 caliber bullet will do to you?" she asked quietly, her voice cold. "At this range, there'd be nothing left to ID you with. Your head would be _gone_. But since you don't seem to value your life," she lowered the gun until it was pointing at his groin, "we could start with other parts of your anatomy first."

"Queens!" he squealed, his voice pained and high. "Queens!"

She lowered her voice. "Where in Queens?"

Cohen was breathing hard, tears falling on his cheeks as he stared down at the gun. "14...638...uh....56th Road!"

Ava looked at him for another minute before turning the safety back on and holstering her weapons. "If you're lying to me, you know I'll come back and kill you, right?"

He nodded. "Y-y-y-yeah."

"Good. Then go."

Cohen only stood there for half a second more before he bolted out of the alley. Ava watched him go, a very small part of her appalled at what she had just done. But they had an address now, and with her skin on fire and the world spinning, that was all that mattered.

"Let's go," she said, moving toward the car.

"Like hell!" Danny exclaimed. "You just pulled a fucking gun on me."

She turned back. "And you can either come with me to get this little girl and taken down Ambrosia, or I can go alone. Your choice."

"I have the keys."

"And you don't think I could get those back if I really wanted?"

Danny stared at her. He could see now that something was very wrong, and from the crazed look in her eyes, he knew that Ava had to be on something. But he also knew that in her present state, he was likely to get himself shot if he tried to stop her.

"Fine," he bit out. "We'll go together. But I'm callin' Mac and givin' him the address."

"Good," she said, turning back toward the car. "We're gonna need backup."

"And I'm drivin'!" he called after her.

****************************

The address Cohen had given them was in a quiet neighborhood, with trees lining the streets. With the sun shining, and a couple walking their dog, it was hard to believe that a drug kingpin was running an operation out of one of the two-story homes.

Danny parked a good distance away from the house, not wanting to give their presence away. When he had the vehicle turned off, he turned to look at Ava.

"Before we go in there, you gotta talk to me, Connelly. This stuff you're on -"

She sighed, leaning back against the seat. "I don't know what it is, Danny."

His eyes widened. "You don't know?"

She shook her head. "Adam was running a blood test on me when we left. Someone bumped into me on the way to the crime scene this morning and I felt something stab me -"

"PCP."

"What?"

"Ross got the results back. It's PCP."

She closed her eyes briefly. "The hallucinations make a lot more sense now."

"And you think it's a good idea to go in there like this?"

"Look, Danny...there's a kid in there. She's scared, and she's confused, and she's in the hands of men who will kill her without a second thought. I can't let you go in alone, and we can't sit here and wait for Mac. We have to at least check it out, and _then_ decide what to do."

He nodded. "Not sure I wanna trust you with those guns, though."

Ava chuckled. "I promise not to draw on you this time."

Danny was silent for a minute, staring at the house. "You always struck me as someone with a lotta demons. Things that might come out to play with this drug."

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"Ambrosia know that?"

"Yeah."

Danny opened his door. "Then let's go pay the son of a bitch a visit."

********************************

Guns drawn, the two detectives crouched low as they moved across the front lawn and around to the back of the house. The windows were open despite the cool autumn breeze in the air, and voices floated out to them. They crept closer, trying to hear what was going on.

"Full house," someone declared, and there were groans all around. "Pay up, ya bastards."

In the background, a baby cried.

"Shut that little bitch up, would ya?!" Someone yelled. "She's breakin' my damn concentration!"

Ava shared a glance with Danny. "Exigent circumstances?" she whispered.

He nodded. "Hell yeah."

Ava was the first one through the door, kicking it down as she burst into the kitchen. Six men sat around a table, cards and money strewn across it. They stood up at the intrusion, anger and confusion etched on their faces as she and Danny pointed guns at them. One knocked the table with his leg, sending bottles of vodka crashing to the floor.

"NYPD!" Danny bellowed. "Show us your hands!"

Every man reached for his gun, but before anyone could get a shot off, one man smirked at them, lifting a match from the table.

"Ambrosia," Ava growled.

"I shoulda known you'd show up here, Connelly. You always were a bleeding heart."

"Give us the kid," Danny said, pointing his gun at him.

Ambrosia seemed to think about it for a minute. "Nah. Don't wanna do that." He turned to Ava again. "How's that drug treatin' ya, sweetheart?"

"I'm more than willing to share the pain."

He chuckled. "Game on, then."

He struck the match and threw it on the floor, where it ignited the vodka. As the flames burst forth, Ambrosia made for the door, while his men tried to get away before the fire consumed them as well. Ava lunged at Carlos as he reached the living room, tackling him and sending them both to the floor.

"Danny, the baby!" she screamed.

He heard the urgency in her voice, but couldn't make a move for the little girl yet. Half of the men at the table charged him, while the others ran out to help Ambrosia against Connelly. Instead of firing their weapons, they attacked him with their fists, and with the first punch, the adrenaline was screaming through his body. Fights he'd had as a teenager came flooding back to him, and his instincts kicked in; he fought back, breaking one guy's nose and sending him sprawling to the floor within seconds. But then he saw the glint of a knife, and he knew that this wouldn't be easy.

He was fighting for his life.

*****************************

As soon as they tumbled to the floor, Ava had her cuffs out, intending on putting Ambrosia out of business as soon as possible. But the bastard was too fast, and he rolled them over before slamming a fist into her stomach. Air whooshed out of her lungs, and she had one fleeting moment to wonder why the punch didn't hurt as much as it should have before he was punching her again - this time in the face. Slamming her knee up into his groin, Ava rolled them over once again, trying to gain the advantage back by being on top.

But then someone was lifting her, and she was thrown across the room. She slammed into a wall before sliding to the floor, and she looked up to see some of Ambrosia's men standing in front of him. Pushing herself up slowly, she looked around, weighing her options.

She could hear the baby crying from somewhere else in the house, but she wasn't sure where, exactly. But as she stared at the men in front of her, gauging strengths and distances, she knew that she couldn't fight them off _and _save the little girl. The fire was spreading through the house like a plague, the flames licking up walls with red hot fingertips. Smoke filled the room, playing tricks with her mind and making her feel as though she had fallen into Hell itself.

"Whatchya gonna do, Agent Connelly?" Ambrosia called out. "Tick tock!"

Her eyes landed on the stairs, and she knew what she had to do. Ambrosia wanted her - he wouldn't be able to just stand there and let her get away. She could only hope that Danny was able to get to the baby in time, or that their backup would arrive. She looked back at Ambrosia.

"Fuck you," she spat out.

Without waiting for a response, she jumped forward and ran up the stairs, smiling darkly when she heard them following her.

*****************************

Don's heart was hammering in his chest as they drove out to Queens, but it nearly stopped when they pulled up in front of the burning house. Fire trucks were already there, but the fire was clearly not going down without a serious fight. Before the vehicle was stopped, he was already jumping out, the rest of the team not far behind him.

"Whoa, whoa whoa!" the Fire Marshall said, holding out his arms. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"In there," Flack said, pointing at the house.

"No way - not until we get this fire under control!"

"My partner and my best friend are in there!" he yelled.

"Then my men will try to get them out. You can't -"

But Don wasn't listening anymore. He shoved the man back as hard as he could and rushed forward, shedding his suit jacket as he went. Glancing back, he saw that Mac and Hawkes were right behind him, and they all ran into the house.

Danny was in the front room, holding the baby tightly to his chest as he tried to make it to the front door. But two men stood in his way, one holding a gun, the other a nasty looking knife. Mac didn't hesitate - he disarmed the man with the gun swiftly, while Hawkes threw a punch at the other one. Both were down in a matter of seconds, and Flack moved over to Danny.

"Where's Connelly?" he asked, raising his voice to be heard over the fire.

"Don't know!" They both stopped as they heard a crash from upstairs. "She wouldn't..."

"She would," Don said firmly. He pushed Danny toward the other two men. "Get them out. I'll get Ava."

"Don -" Mac said.

"Go!" he yelled, heading up the stairs.

*************************************

Ava's head was spinning. She was bleeding from multiple cuts on her arms and legs, but oddly enough, she felt no pain. She thought that had something to do with the PCP, but she didn't have time to think about it. Ambrosia and one of his men stood facing her, both holding knives as they circled around her, waiting for their next opportunity to strike.

One of them rushed forward, his knife raised as he attacked her. Ava caught his wrist and slammed his own hand back into his face, knocking him back a little. He staggered, and she landed another two punches to his gut before she crashed her fist into his nose. He fell to the ground, unconscious, and blood flowing from his face.

She didn't see the bat until it was too late. Ambrosia emerged from the smoke like a devil and swung it at her, catching her just under the top of her rib cage. The blow lifted her into the air and sent her sailing across the room until she hit a wall. When she fell to the floor, she lay there for a second, trying to find enough oxygen to drag into her lungs.

She tried to get up, but her body was starting to shut down. She had put it through too much, and pushed it too far, and now it was quitting on her just when she needed it most. Weakly, she lifted her head, eyes scanning the room for Ambrosia.

And that was when she saw him. He stood on the far side of the room, arms crossed as he looked down at her. He looked exactly as he had the last time she saw him, and she felt tears fill her eyes.

"Tony," she whispered.

But he didn't answer her, didn't come to her rescue. He just stood there, watching her, his brown eyes full of fire.

"Tony," she rasped, her voice a little louder as she reached out a hand toward him. "Please."

There was a crash somewhere behind her, and the sound of shouting voices. Then someone was kneeling by her side, their hand pushing back her hair.

"Tony," she breathed, looking up again.

But Tony wasn't there anymore. Ava felt herself being lifted by strong arms, and then she was being cradled against someone's chest. They held her closely, and she caught a scent of cologne that she knew.

"Don?" she asked, confused and frightened.

"It's me," he murmured, tightening his hold on her. "I'm gonna get you outta here, Connelly."

He looked around the room as she clung to the front of his shirt, and he could feel her shaking in his arms. He had heard her call for Tony, and he knew that whatever demons were in her head, she had faced them all today. Glancing back at the broken stairwell, he knew he couldn't get down that way - Ambrosia had already tried that and paid with his life. Turning, he began to grow desperate. Then his eyes landed on the window.

"Hold on," he whispered in her ear.

He ran forward and jumped through the glass.


	9. Chapter 9

Glass shattered all around him, and he felt it cut his face and arms. The heat of the fire was strong against his back, as though it were throwing them out of the house.

And then he was falling. For half a second, he caught a glimpse of fire trucks and curious onlookers, mingled with blue and red flashing lights. Everything froze for just a moment, and then he air was rushing around him again, thundering in his ears.

He had forgotten about the slanted roof until he slammed into it and started to slide down it. In hindsight, it probably saved him from a few broken bones. But as he ran out of roof and the ground rushed up at him, he just tightened his grip on Ava and sent up a quick prayer.

Don managed to land on his feet, though the force of the fall drove him to his knees. Instinctively, he cradled Ava closer to his chest, trying to shield her from too much jarring. He was aware of shouting and people running towards them, but his eyes went straight to the woman in his arms.

"Connelly?" He saw that her eyes were closed, and panic gripped his chest. "Ava!"

Hands were on his shoulders, shaking him, and he suddenly realized that he'd been shouting. Looking up, he saw Mac and Danny there, pulling him to his feet.

"Let me take her, Don," Mac said. "We've got to get you both to the hospital."

"Not to mention away from the burnin' building," Danny commented.

Flack's grip on Ava tightened. "I got her." He began to walk towards the ambulance.

"Don -"

"I got her!"

Another step, and he felt a twinge in his right knee - he hadn't landed perfectly. But instead of handing his partner off, he quickened his pace, turning away from the fearful looks on Stella and Lindsay's faces. Ignoring the paramedics and their offers of help, Don went to the gurney they had out and set Ava down as gently as he could; he brushed a stray hair from her face.

"Detective, we need to get her to the hospital," one of them said.

Flack hauled himself into the ambulance. "I'm ridin' with her."

**********************************

"What the hell happened?" Jen asked as soon as she got through the door.

Hawkes frowned. "Who are you?"

"Ava's roommate," she retorted. "Who the hell are you?"

"Sheldon Hawkes. I work with Ava. We all do."

Jen sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "I'm sorry. I was rude. I get that way when Ava lands herself in the hospital." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Jen."

Hawkes shook her hand and gave her a small smile. "Nice to meet you." He gestured around the group. "Stella, Lindsay, Angell, Mac, Danny and Adam."

"I've heard about all of you. Nice to finally put some faces with the names."

"Good things, I hope," Lindsay said.

Jen smirked. "Well, about everyone but Danny." She frowned, turning back to Hawkes. "Where's Don?"

"In with Ava," Mac said, stepping forward. "He refuses to leave her side." He gestured to the chair next to him. "Why don't you sit down, and I'll tell you what happened."

"Just tell me one thing first," she interrupted. "Will she be okay?"

Mac nodded, giving her a smile. "Doctor just came out and told us she'll be fine. They just have to flush the PCP out of her system and she needs a lot of rest."

Jen stared at him. "PCP? Okay, I'm gonna sit now."

As she sank into the chair, Hawkes leaned over. "Need some coffee?"

"Hot chocolate, actually."

He patted her arm. "Coming right up."

********************************

The room was quiet when Jen walked in, aside from the constant beep of the machines. Since Ava had become a federal agent, they had both spent far too much time in hospitals, but this was different. So often she stepped into the room, and her friend was sitting up, telling the doctors that she was fine and she just wanted to get back to work. She would greet Jen with a smile and a roll of her eyes, and she would know that everything was going to be alright.

Ava lay flat on the bed, her eyes closed and her skin pale. The hospital gown and the machines surrounding her made her look so much smaller, and for the first time in years, Jen remembered that her friend was not a big woman. She smiled sadly to herself - Ava just always seemed larger than life.

Don was sprawled out in the chair next to her bed. It was much too small for him, but he had somehow managed to stuff his body into it, his long legs spread out on the bed next to Ava's. There were dark smudges on his face, and bandages on his arm, and Jen's mind jumped to the fire Mac had told her about. It was a miracle that they were alive, and she knew that if it hadn't been for the detective, Ava wouldn't still be breathing.

She reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. Flack came awake with a start, his eyes moving around the room before finally resting on Jen. Rubbing his face, he sat up, wincing at the stiff muscles.

"Hey," he greeted sleepily.

"Hey," she whispered. "How is she?"

"Same. Doc said she's gonna be okay, though. Just gotta get some rest and let the drug work its way outta her system."

It was then that Jen noticed the restraints on Ava's wrists. She stepped forward, touching them gently, a frown on her face. "What -"

"The PCP," he explained quietly. "She woke up when we first got here, and she knocked two nurses out. We had to hold her down until they could sedate her..."

"Oh, Ava," she whispered, leaning over and kissing her forehead. She turned back to Don. "You should take a break."

He shook his head. "No -"

"Yes," she said firmly. "I'll stay. I'm not asking you to leave the hospital, Don. But go take a walk. Get something to eat. Then you can come back and resume guard duty, okay?"

She knew that he wanted to argue the point, but his stomach chose that moment to rat him out, rumbling loudly. Ducking his head sheepishly, he pushed himself out of the chair. "Alright. But just for a little while." He headed for the door, turning back with his hand on the knob. "Who's Tony?"

Jen's head snapped up. "What?"

"Ava was callin' his name, just before I got to her. She was reachin' out like he was there."

She shook her head, brushing a stray hair from her friend's face. "I still can't tell you, Flack."

He sighed. "Yeah. I'll be back."

The door clicked shut behind him and she sank into the chair.

**********************************

Ava woke up with a pounding headache. Her mouth was dry and scratchy, and it took her a minute for her to detach her tongue and moisten her gums. She needed some water, and possibly three or four Tylenol to go with it. Swallowing hard, she raised a hand to wipe the sleep out of her eyes.

Only her hand wouldn't raise. Panic settling into her chest, Ava's eyes fluttered open, the light in the room painful. Sounds came rushing in at her, and it took her a minute to separate them out and realize that she was in a hospital bed, surrounded by machines.

"What the hell...?" she asked, trying to raise her arms again.

"They had to restrain you. Guess you went postal and knocked a few nurses out."

Turning her head, she saw Jen sitting next to the bed, her arms crossed. "Oh."

"Oh? That's all you have to say?"

"Could you keep it down a little? My head hurts like a bitch."

"Well, I guess that's what happens when some guy stabs you with a syringe full of PCP and then you start hallucinating dead people and decide that you can do your job anyway. Not to mention the burning house and almost getting yourself killed."

Memories of the day slowly came back to her. "The baby?" she asked. "Danny -?"

"Both fine," Jen assured her, her voice gentling.

"How did I get out?"

"Flack."

Ava frowned. "Huh?"

"He and the team showed up at the house, after it was on fire. Don rushed in and saved you. Jumped out of a window with you in his arms. How can you not be in love with this guy?"

"There must obviously be something wrong with me," she muttered sarcastically. "What do the doctors say?"

"That you're gonna live."

"Well that's good."

Jen leaned back in the chair, scrutinizing her friend for a long minute. "What the hell are you doing?" she finally asked.

"Laying here, why?"

"That's not what I'm talking about, and you know it."

Ava sighed. "I didn't go out looking for trouble, Jen. The guy stabbed me -"

"And the minute you started seeing Tony, or anybody else who couldn't have been there, you should have gotten yourself to the hospital!"

"There was a missing girl -"

"Bullshit!" Jen yelled, sitting forward. "I don't care if there was going to be an attack on the President himself. You were sick, and you were dangerous."

"Only to the bad guys."

"I know Danny's a jackass, Ava, but since when is he one of the bad guys?" When her friend looked at her sharply, she nodded. "He told us you pulled a gun on him. Threatened to shoot him if he tried to stop you from shooting a witness."

Ava closed her eyes, breathing deeply. "My head was a mess, I know that. But I couldn't walk away. I didn't know how to."

Jen shook her head. "How long are you gonna keep trying to commit suicide by perp?" she asked quietly. Ava just looked away. Leaning forward, Jen rested her hand on her arm. "I understand that you're hurting, Ava -"

Ava's head whipped around, making her want to cry out in pain. But instead, she just held her friend's gaze, tears in her eyes.

"You know nothing of pain," she hissed.

"Maybe you're right," Jen said slowly. "But you need to stop walking around, closed off to the world like you've got nothing left to live for. You've got friends - closer than any family. You've got a job. You've got people who are willing to risk their lives for you. When are you going to realize that the only reason you're alone is because you won't let anybody in?"

A tear slipped down Ava's cheek, despite her best efforts. "I don't want to do this without him," she whispered.

Jen squeezed her hand, her voice quiet. "Ava...you don't have a choice," she said as gently as she could.

The door opened then, and both women blinked back their tears as Don walked into the room. He hesitated in the doorway, knowing that he had interrupted something.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I can come back -"

"No," Jen said, standing up. "It's your turn to sit with her." She leaned over and kissed her friend on the cheek. "Be nice to him," she whispered. "He sat in this chair the whole time you were asleep."

With a murmured goodbye to Flack, Jen moved past him and out the door. He sat down carefully in the chair next to her bed, looking her up and down and giving her a smile.

"It's good to see you awake, Connelly," he said.

"It's good to be awake."

"How you feelin'?"

"Worn out."

"Doc says you need to rest."

She gave him a small smile. "I can try to do that."

His eyebrows raised. "Really? 'Cause you're not exactly known for followin' orders."

"I said I could try. I didn't say I'd be successful."

He chuckled at that. "Any more hallucinations?"

She looked around and shook her head slightly. "Just you and me in the room."

"Good. We can undo these then." He stood up and began to remove her restraints, his touch gentle. When he was finished, he sat down again, arms balanced on his thighs. "Is it okay if I stay?"

"On one condition."

"Okay."

"Don't ask me any questions yet."

His blue eyes met her brown ones, and for a moment they just stared at each other. Then Flack nodded, and she let out a small sigh of relief. Reaching out impulsively, she took his hand in hers and turned to stare out the window.

***********************************

"You should get some sleep," Flack murmured as they sat in her room, watching reruns of American Gladiators on Spike TV.

"Can't sleep. I slept all day."

"You should at least try."

"Okay, Doctor Flack. I'll make you a deal. I'll try to sleep if you get me a hot chocolate."

He frowned. "The cafeteria's closed."

"I know."

"I'd have to go out to get it."

"I know."

His eyes narrowed. "You're not gonna break out of the hospital while I'm gone, are you?"

"Scout's honor. I just want chocolate. It's a comfort thing."

He stood up and grabbed his jacket. "I'll be back in fifteen. If I can find a place that's open."

"Dunkin Donuts is 24-hours."

Don laughed. "You get hot chocolate at midnight on a regular basis?"

"You'd be surprised."

He shook his head. "Actually, I wouldn't."

After he walked out, Ava waited a solid five minutes before moving. Then she was pushing herself out of the bed, groaning quietly at how sore her muscles were. Jen had brought her some sweatpants after dinner, and she slipped them on. She wished that she could pull the IV out of her arm, but she was afraid that alarms would start going off. Instead, she just grabbed the whole contraption and wheeled it out of the room with her.

She hadn't lied to Don - she had no intention of leaving the hospital. But just one day in that little room had made her start to feel trapped, and she just needed to walk around and let her head clear. She hadn't had a single hallucination all day, and she was fairly certain that she wasn't going to go crazy again. So she wandered the halls, avoiding nurses and doctors.

Lost in a daze, Ava had no idea where she was going - until she stopped and looked around, realizing that she was at the hospital chapel. A little voice inside told her that she had been heading there all along, and she was too tired to argue with it. Taking a deep breath and willing her hands not to shake, she walked in slowly.

The room was small, but she had expected that. A stained glass window stood at the far end, it's red and yellow paint shining brightly, lit by a small light from behind. The cross stood in front of it, and then a table draped in a white lace cloth, with a large Bible resting on top. Her fingers itched to touch the pages, to turn them and find some semblance of comfort in them. But she forced them to stay at her sides.

She had every intention of sitting down in the back, and just letting her mind run through all the jumbled thoughts racing through her. But as she walked down the center aisle, she saw that the room wasn't empty, and her eyes widened as she recognized the person sitting in one of the pews. His head was bowed, but there was a slump to his shoulders that had nothing to do with prayer. Ava thought about stepping out of the room, and giving him his space, but that little voice nagged at her again - she didn't believe in coincidence, and the cross at the front of the room told her that maybe she was supposed to be there. Taking a deep breath, she moved forward carefully and took a seat next to him. She reached out a shaky hand and rested it on his shoulder.

"Danny?"

He jumped at the sound of her voice, and it took his eyes a moment to focus on her. Confusion and surprise turned to suspicion and anger, and he frowned at her.

"What are you doin' here?"

She shrugged. "Same thing as you, I imagine."

His bottom lip trembled, and Ava suddenly realized that he was close to tears. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed, restin'?"

"Aren't you supposed to be home with Lindsay?" she asked quietly. When he didn't answer, she pushed it. "Why are you here, Danny?"

He shook his head. "You wouldn't understand."

"After everything you saw me go through today, do you really believe that?"

Danny was silent for a long time, staring up at the cross and refusing to meet her eyes. But Ava just waited him out, finally understanding that they were more alike than she had originally thought possible.

"My brother's here," he finally said, his voice hushed.

"In the hospital?" He nodded. "For what?"

His lip trembled again. "He's in a coma. Got beat up a coupla years ago..." He shook his head. "It shoulda been me..." he whispered.

Ava wanted to comfort him, wanted to tell him that everything was going to be okay, that his brother was going to be okay. But she had seen too much, and she knew that things didn't always turn out the way she thought they should. And she knew that he had just shared something with her that he hadn't really wanted to, and she owed him something in return.

"I've lost someone, too. More than one, actually."

"Yeah?" he asked, turning to face her. "Who?"

She shrugged, tears filling her eyes. "My whole family, basically. I have a brother left, in Boston. But everyone else...they're gone."

"How?"

"My family has a bad history with car accidents and guns." She turned to look at him. "And you know what I just realized today?"

"What?"

"That we make our own prisons. That we only carry these burdens alone because we choose to." She paused. "Do you talk to Lindsay about your brother?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Why?"

"I don't know how," he whispered.

"I think you do," she said gently. "Just like I know how to talk to Jen, or Don...But we're afraid to break in front of the people we care about most. And I think it's 'cause we're afraid that they'll let us down. That they won't be able to put us back together."

A tear slid down his face, and he turned his head, trying to hide it from her. But Ava reached out and pulled him back, brushing her thumb across his cheek.

"I think we can trust them, Danny," she whispered, her own tears falling.

His shoulders began to shake, and Ava slipped her hand into his, squeezing tightly. And when she felt him cling to her desperately, she bowed her head and prayed.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Really glad I got this chapter out before Christmas. This chapter is shorter, but Ava gets out some stuff she needs to. Hope you enjoy. Merry Christmas to all, and may God bless you and your family!**

**And of course, another huge thanks to my beta, because she pretty much rocks the free world.  
**

Ava's eyes fluttered open as she heard someone come through the door. She had been flooded with visitors over the past two days, and she was tired. But as the person paused by the side of her bed, she knew this wasn't just someone checking up on her. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes completely.

"I was wondering when you'd come to see me."

Mac sat down in the chair. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. Much better, actually. They're releasing me in the morning." She paused. "I'm guessing you wanted to make sure I was okay before you read me the riot act?"

"Actually, I wanted to know how you were doing because you're a member of my team, and I care."

"If that were true, Mac, you would have visited me before now."

He watched her closely, hearing the hurt in her voice. "Do you want to know the real reason I haven't been in to see you yet?"

Ava nodded.

"I was furious at you." The words stung, but she knew that she deserved them. "You put yourself and Danny at risk, and you didn't let the rest of us in the loop. You knew that something was wrong, and you held it in – the two of you could have been killed!"

"I know –"

"Not to mention the baby. You should have called for backup, Ava. The only reason that house caught on fire was because of your recklessness, and that baby could have burned to death."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

He sighed, leaning back in the chair. "When are you going to learn that we're your team and you need to _work_ with us?" he asked quietly.

"I'm starting to get that now," she admitted. "Better late than never, right?" She paused, taking a deep breath. "Are you firing me?"

"No."

She looked at him sharply. "What?"

"Sinclair nearly blew a fuse when he found out what you did, but your contacts in the federal government saved you. When they ID'd Ambrosia's body, CTU told Sinclair that the NYPD was getting full credit for taking a dangerous drug lord off the streets, and that they were extremely grateful to the city and to you. Sinclair couldn't fire you after that – it would raise too many questions, and bring the department too much bad press. So you get to keep your job."

"I'm sensing a 'but' here."

Mac nodded. "The NYPD can't make it look like reckless behavior is encouraged. So they're suspending you."

"For how long?"

"Two months."

Ava closed her eyes, letting out a sigh of relief. "Eight weeks. That's a lot less than I was expecting."

"But no more crazy stunts, Connelly. I need to know you're not going to blow up half of New York."

"I promise," she said with a small smile. "I mean, I can't promise there'll be _no_ crazy stuff. I attract random gunfire and car chases. But I'll try my best to play by the rules."

He reached out, patting her arm warmly. "Good. Then I'll be very happy to have you back in two months."

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"Heard you went and got yourself suspended."

Ava looked up from tying her shoe, and gave Don a small smile. "Only for a couple of months. And then I'll be back to driving you crazy all the time."

He crossed the room, hands in his pockets. "I happen to _like_ you drivin' me crazy, Connelly. Keeps things interesting."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed her jacket. "I thought Jen was picking me up."

"She was, but I convinced her to let me get ya instead."

"Oh yeah? And why is that?"

He shrugged. "You owe me an explanation or two, if I remember correctly."

Ava's smile faded slightly, but she nodded. "I definitely do."

"So I sent Jen out, and I've officially got you to myself for a little while."

She sighed. "I suppose this means I'm gonna have to feed you."

"Damn straight, Connelly," he said with a grin.

But once they had climbed into the car and headed towards her apartment, Ava was silent. Don looked over at her a few times, taking in the thoughtful way she gazed out the window.

"You're gonna make me wait until we get to your place, aren't ya?" he finally asked.

She gave him a small smile. "Trust me, Don, this is something that calls for pizza and beer first." She wrinkled her nose. "Well, you can have beer. I don't drink it."

"You don't drink?" he asked, confusion on his face. "That night at the bar –"

"Was a fluke," she finished. "And I'm okay with drinking. I'm just more of a fruity girly drink kind of person. And unfortunately, the pizza place does not deliver fruity girly drinks."

"You want me to make you one?" he asked, his eyes dancing playfully.

She shook her head. "No thanks. I can do it. That's what we have schnapps for."

When they got to her apartment, Ava nodded at the doorman and led him inside and to the elevator. As it moved upwards, Don glanced over at her.

"Can I ask one question now?"

"Sure."

The elevator dinged and the doors opened, depositing them on her floor.

"How does a former fed and a New York cop afford a place like this?"

"That's an easy one," she said, leading him into the apartment. "A trust fund." His eyebrows shot up at that, and she shrugged. "My mom was loaded, and she died when I was sixteen, leaving me everything."

"So…you don't need to work."

"No. But I think I'd get bored without it. Besides, I think God gave each and every one of us a gift, and it would seem that mine happens to be saving the world once in awhile."

He chuckled. "Fair enough. So I take it we gotta order pizza before I get anything else out of ya?"

She tossed him the phone. "Number's next to the fridge."

After he had finished ordering for them, he moved toward the couch. A black cat jumped up onto the back, glaring at him fiercely.

"Uh, Connelly?"

"Yeah?"

"I think your cat wants to kill me."

He had barely finished his sentence before he sneezed violently. The cat leapt from the back of the couch and dashed across the room before hopping up onto the counter and nuzzling Ava.

"Aw, you scared her," she said.

"She's afraid of sneezes?"

"Pretty much any loud noise." She smiled at him. "I take it you're allergic to cats?"

"Very much so."

Ava nodded, and disappeared into the bathroom. When she came out, she tossed him a small tube and went back to her cat.

"What's this?" he asked.

"You put it around your nostrils and it blocks the allergens from getting inside. Jen practically lives on the stuff, since she's got nasty allergies in the spring. It works," she added, seeing his skeptical look.

"I hope so," he muttered, putting the stuff on his nose.

"Me too," she replied, picking up her cat again. "Because if it comes to kicking you out or Nightmare…Nightmare's gonna win."

"You'd choose your cat over me?"

She shrugged, setting Nightmare back down and pulling down some glasses. "She's prettier."

"Ouch."

Ava smiled over her shoulder. "Not by much, though. You want a beer?"

"I'd love one."

She busied herself making her own drink, and by the time she was finished, the pizza had arrived. Flack went paid the delivery boy, and when he turned back, he saw that Ava was sitting on the couch with paper plates and napkins on the coffee table. He took a seat next to her and put a slice on each of their plates before leaning back against the cushions. They ate in silence for a couple of minutes, before Ava finally broke the silence.

"I was engaged in L.A.," she said quietly.

Don stopped chewing and took a sip of his beer, watching her intently. "Who was he?"

She smiled sadly. "His name was Tony. He worked at CTU - that was how we met. He was one of my closest friends, too." She looked up at him. "We fought like crazy at first. He was dating this woman that I hated with a passion, and he just didn't know what to do with me. But eventually…"

"How long were you together?"

"Actually dating? About a year. I was in love with him for a long time before that, though. Maybe if we had admitted it sooner…" She shrugged.

Slowly, Flack reached out and rested his hand on her knee. "What happened?" he asked quietly.

She touched his hand, running her thumb over his skin. "A car bomb," she said, her voice wavering as her eyes filled with tears. "We were chasing a suspect, and…I was in the car in front of him. My whole life, my future, went up in a cloud of smoke." Ava wiped at a tear, grimacing when she realized that too many were falling and it was a useless gesture. "He wasn't the only one I lost, either…Curtis' wife was in the car with him."

"So the two of you came to New York?"

"We couldn't stay there. I've lost a lot of people, Don, and every time I turned around…they were there. Looking at me with accusing eyes.

"Is that what you saw while you were drugged?"

She nodded. "They were everywhere," she whispered. "But what was worse…I could hear them. They all told me it was my fault, that I had let them down."

"Even Tony?"

"No," she whispered, meeting his eyes. "He didn't say anything at all. He just stood there, staring at me. I begged him to help me, but…" She gave him a small smile. "But then you were there and it was okay."

"I'm just glad I got to ya in time," he murmured. "I wasn't sure I would."

Ava squeezed his hand. "So there you go. You know my big secret now."

He frowned. "You're tellin' me that's your only secret?"

"Well, no. I've got others. A girl's gotta have _some_ mystery, though. Otherwise I might become boring."

Flack laughed. "Connelly, you ain't never gonna be boring. I can promise you that." He paused. "You are crazy, though."

"I know."

His expression sobered. "But you're also one of the strongest people I've ever met. You went through hell that day, and you still fought. You didn't give up."

"I almost did," she admitted, her head down. "I would have, if you hadn't shown up."

"That's what partners do," he told her. "We don't let the other go, okay?"

Ava smiled at him. "Okay."

Nodding, Don stood up, dragging her to her feet as well. Then he pulled her into a tight hug. It took her a second, but then she wrapped her arms around his torso, taking the comfort he was offering.

"You finally let me in, and now I gotta work without ya for two months," he commented when they pulled back. "That's not fair."

"Just because I'm suspended doesn't mean you can't come see me, Don."

"Yeah?"

"I think we're friends now."

"I should damn well hope so," he smiled.

"We'll do dinner, okay? I make a mean spaghetti and meatballs."

"Now you're talkin'," he said, his hand on his stomach. "Make me some good pasta, and I'm yours."

They both laughed at that, and then Ava's phone rang. She frowned, moving into the kitchen to grab it.

"Can't be work," she muttered. "I'm grounded."

"Suspended," Flack corrected.

"Same difference." She opened her phone. "Connelly."

"Ava? It's Bill."

"Hey, Bill," she said warmly. Then she frowned again. "You're not calling to yell at me, are you? Mac already lectured me, and I'm suspended, and I swear I won't go running around if I get drugged with PCP again –"

"Ava, stop."

She did, her body tensing. "Bill, what's wrong?"

"We found him."

All the air whooshed out of her body. "What?" she croaked.

"We found him. We found Jack."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Delving into 24 a little bit for this chapter and the next, hope you'll stick with me.**

Flack took a step forward, noting how pale his partner's face was. "Ava?"

She held up a shaky hand, the phone still pressed to her ear. "China?" she asked, her voice hushed.

"Yes," Bill confirmed from the other end of the line.

"Can we get to him?"

"Already working on it. I've set up two tickets for you and Curtis to come back to L.A. tomorrow night."

"Why not right now?"

"I need to figure out some of the logistics first. This is completely under the radar, Ava. When you and Curtis get in, you'll be briefed and then you'll head back out. We want to get him out of there as quickly and safely as possible."

She closed her eyes, trying to steady her rapidly beating heart. "Okay."

"Your plane leaves La Guardia at two o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Just go to the counter and give them your names. They'll have the tickets waiting." He paused, waiting for an answer. "Ava? Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she said, leaning on the counter. "I just…I can't believe we found him."

"You have Chloe to thank for that. Call me as soon as you touch down tomorrow. I'll have someone there to pick you up."

"Thanks, Bill."

She closed her phone, still leaning against the counter. Flack moved forward cautiously, but when she didn't look up, he reached out and gently touched her hand.

"Ava?"

Her eyes met his, and he saw that she was just holding back tears. Sniffing, she shook her head and pulled her hand away from his.

"I have to go pack."

Don frowned, and stepped in her path before she could get past him. "Pack for where?"

"Don –"

"No. I know this opening up stuff doesn't come easy for you. I get that. But you're upset. God, Connelly, you're shakin'. Tell me what's goin' on."

Looking up at him, Ava knew that he wasn't going to drop it. And she knew that she still owed him more answers. Shaking her head, she sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"A friend…a very good friend…was kidnapped back in L.A."

"By who?"

She paused, looking down at the ground for a moment before answering. "The Chinese."

His eyes narrowed. "As in, the Chinese government?"

"The government denies any knowledge about any prisoners taken. And there's no proof leading back to them."

"So how…?"

"I was there when they took him. Jack was an agent at C.T.U. Like me. And he pissed off more than his fair share of people. So they've been torturing him for the past year or so. And now…" She trailed off, her throat tightening. "We found him," she finally whispered.

Don watched her carefully. "So you're goin' to China?"

"L.A., first. Then China. I've gotta get him outta there, Don."

She pushed past him, but he grabbed her arm, spinning her back around.

"Then I'm coming with you."

"No way," she said firmly, shaking her head.

"I'm not letting you run back into danger –"

"You don't have a choice!" she yelled. Hurt flashed in his eyes, and Ava gentled her tone. "Don, this isn't your fight. It's mine. And what we're gonna do over there is probably nowhere near the realm of legal. I can't risk you…don't you understand that?"

He leaned down, getting in her face. "I almost lost you in that fire, Ava. Now you're gonna be thousands of miles away, sneakin' into another country –"

"And I'll have someone watching my back. Curtis is one of the best. I'll be back, Don."

"You can't promise that," he whispered.

She gave him a small smile as she reached up and touched his face. "I can promise to try."

He closed his eyes and nodded, the fight falling out of him. "You better come back. I don't wanna have to break in a new partner, ya got me?"

Ava nodded, her smile growing. "I got ya."

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"I can't believe you found him," Jen said as she watched Ava pack.

"Technically, I didn't. Chloe did."

"Same difference."

Ava shook her head. "No, it's not. I ran away from my demons, and Chloe stayed faithful to him, just like she always does. If it weren't for her…"

"Stop it."

The detective sighed, pausing in the act of putting another shirt in her bag. "I just…I feel like I left him, you know?"

Jen stepped forward, resting a hand on her friend's arm. "You did what you had to do, Ava. For you."

She turned and looked her in the eye. "And what about him?"

"Chloe found him. And now you're going to get him. If you had really abandoned him, you wouldn't be rushing off to China to break him out. You're not running away from him. You're running to save him."

Ava sat down on the bed. "I have to bring him back."

Jen sat next to her. "And you will." Silence fell over them for a couple minutes. "How are you explaining this to Flack and the others?"

"Don knows the truth."

Jen's eyes widened. "What?"

"He was here when Bill called. I wasn't gonna lie to him, Jen. I've done too much of that already."

"What about the others?"

"He told them I'm going on vacation. Some things to clean up back on the West Coast."

Jen nodded. "How's he handling this? You running off to take on an entire hostile government?"

Ava chuckled. "Worried."

"You seem different," her friend said after a minute. "A few months ago you would have been strapping every weapon you own on, and you would have hopped an earlier flight."

"Things are different now."

"How?"

Ava looked at her for a minute. "I'm not quite as ready to die as I was."

"Good," her friend said quietly. "That means I might get you back in one piece."

"Hopefully. I don't think Nightmare would forgive me if I left her with you forever."

Jen rolled her eyes. "Ha ha. Let's finish getting you packed."

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"You ready yet?" Curtis asked for the fifth time.

"You know me and packing."

"I know it never goes well."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Why don't you go hail us a cab? You know…something useful?"

Chuckling, Curtis made his way out of her bedroom and through her living room. But when he opened the front door, he stopped in his tracks, staring in confusion.

"Yo, Connelly!"

"What?"

"Come here for a sec."

She sighed, coming out. "What, did you forget how to hail a –" She stopped short, frowning in confusion. "Don?"

He stood in her doorway, his hands in his pockets. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "Thought you guys could use a ride to the airport."

Curtis' eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he answered before Ava could even open her mouth. "Sounds great, man. Your car downstairs?"

Flack nodded. "Yep. Need some help carryin' stuff?"

Ava threw her bag at him. "As long as you're being a gentleman."

He grinned at her. "Always."

The ride out to the airport was fairly quiet. Curtis insisted on sitting in the backseat, but Ava could feel his eyes moving between her and Flack. Every time she glanced back at him, he just smiled at her, and she would glare at him before turning back around.

When they got to La Guardia, Don pulled up in front of the doors and got out to say goodbye. Handing Ava her bag, his hands went back into his pockets and he looked down at the ground.

"Ya can't tell me anything about this secret op, huh?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, Don."

He nodded. "Just come back to me, okay?" he said quietly.

"I'll try. I promise."

Nodding again, he turned to Curtis and stuck out his hand. "You take care of her."

The agent shook his hand. "With my life," he said solemnly. He turned to Ava. "We should go. Don't wanna miss the plane."

"Right." She took a deep breath. "Bye, Don."

"See ya when ya get back, Connelly," he said firmly.

They turned away, Curtis picking up both bags as they headed toward the door. Halfway there, though, Ava turned back and walked over to Don. She hesitated for a moment and then hugged him tightly, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"See ya when I get back," she whispered.

He was left speechless as she ran back over to Curtis and disappeared into the airport. Sighing, he looked skyward, praying that God would bring them back safely. Then he took a glance at his watch and climbed back into the driver's seat – he still had a couple hours before his own flight left.


	12. Chapter 12

The plane was in the air for almost twenty minutes before Curtis opened his mouth.

"So…"

Ava didn't even glance up from her book. "Yeah?"

"That's quite a caring partner you got there."

"Yep. Good man."

"Drove us all the way out to the airport. On his day off."

"Probably wanted to say goodbye."

Curtis nodded. "Like I said…caring."

She sighed, setting her book down in her lap. "How about you stop dancing around whatever it is you want to say?"

He chuckled. "Alright. I think he's worried about you, and he wanted to see you off, and that his caring goes a bit deeper than partners or friends."

Ava shook her head. "I don't know what he's feeling. You'd have to ask him."

He watched his friend carefully. "And you're not willing to talk about what you feel?"

She picked her book back up. "He's my partner. And my friend." She paused. "A very good friend."

Curtis nodded, leaning back in his seat and turning his head to stare out the window. "It's not betraying him, you know," he said quietly.

"What?" she asked, her voice a little sharper than she expected.

"Being attracted to another man. It's not betraying Tony. He'd…" Curtis' voice caught, and it took him a second to clear his throat. "He'd want you to be happy."

"I don't exactly see you out in the dating field," she snapped. Ava took a deep breath. "Shit, Curtis. I'm sorry-"

He turned to look at her. "You're handling this better than I am," he said, his voice thick. "I'm…barely holding on."

She gave him a sad, small smile and reached out, taking his hand in hers. "You can always hold on to me," she whispered.

Squeezing her hand, he looked back out the window.

****************************

They had barely picked up their luggage when Bill Buchanan showed up by their sides, wearing a black suit that let him blend in well with the businessmen moving through LAX. Giving them both a smile and a nod, he took Ava's bag and led them across the airport, not saying a word.

When they got outside, they found a car waiting, and Chloe sitting behind the wheel. Their bags were put in the trunk and they climbed in.

"Are we allowed to talk now?" Ava asked.

Bill smiled. "Yes."

"Were we being followed?" Curtis asked.

"It was a strong possibility. There were some familiar faces in the airport, and what we're about to do isn't exactly…legal."

Ava crossed her arms and huffed. "Neither was kidnapping a U.S. citizen off of U.S. soil."

"True. But we're about to launch an op into the heart of China. Any Chinese players would warn Jack's captors, and any U.S. authorities would want to stop us."

"So we don't get caught. I'm good at not getting caught."

Chloe finally spoke. "Jack told me that's why he hired you. Or one of the reasons, at least."

Ava smiled at her friend. "I'm quite sneaky."

"I remember," Bill said. "You launched a series of ops stealing things from my office once."

She shrugged. "I was bored."

Curtis shook his head. "There's something wrong with you," he muttered. "So what's the plan, Bill?"

"You three go in, you get Jack, you come out."

Ava frowned. "Three?"

"I'm coming as well."

Curtis and Ava turned to stare at Chloe as she drove through Los Angeles. The computer analyst kept her eyes locked on the road, her knuckles white as she gripped the steering wheel.

"What?" Curtis asked. "Bill, you can't be serious about this –"

"Alright," Ava said, cutting him off, her eyes locked on Chloe. "I'd rather have my communications link on the same continent as me anyway."

"But –"

"She's coming, Curtis," she said firmly, giving him a look. Their eyes met for a minute, but the large detective finally nodded, sighing and leaning back into his seat. Taking a deep breath, Ava turned to Bill again. "So where are we headed to now?"

"The airfield," he answered. "You're taking off for China in an hour."

**********************************

"Thank you," Chloe said quietly as they followed Bill and Curtis across the airfield.

"For what?" Ava asked.

The computer analyst shrugged uncomfortably. "Sticking up for me. Letting me go with you guys."

"Bill had already decided you were going," she pointed out. "But I knew you were coming even before that, Chloe. It's Jack. You could never just sit on the sidelines while other people rescued him."

"You probably think that's stupid."

Ava gave her a warm smile. "Not at all. Devotion and loyalty are good things, and you've been more loyal than any of us."

Chloe crossed her arms, hugging herself tightly. "it's just…he deserves better than this, after everything he's done."

The detective nodded, a smirk spreading across her face. "It also helps that you're in love with him."

A deep blush flooded Chloe's cheeks, and she ducked her head Ava nudged her shoulder.

"And there's nothing wrong with that, either," she said quietly.

*****************************

"Alright," Bill said when they were all assembled in the hangar. "Let's go through this and get you guys in the air." He pointed to the small plane behind him. "The pilot will drop you twenty miles outside of the city. From there, you'll pick up a van and drive in."

"They're keeping him in the city?" Curtis asked.

"A warehouse," Chloe explained. "It's listed as a textile factory, but the business is a front. The basement acts as a prison for any 'unofficial' detainees."

"Lovely," Ava murmured.

Bill unrolled a set of blueprints, and they all leaned over them. "You'll enter here," he said, pointing. "Chloe will stay in the van, monitoring and controlling their security cameras. We have no way of distracting the guards, so you're going to have to take them out of play before they raise the alarm." He looked at Ava. "Is that going to be a problem?"

She shook her head. "Not at all."

"Good. Try not to burn the place down, either. We don't want local law enforcement chasing you."

"Got it."

"When you've got Jack, turn your GPS tracker on and get back to where the plane dropped you off. The pilot will be waiting for you."

"You make it sound so easy," she muttered.

"He obviously forgot he was planning an op with you," Curtis quipped.

Ava threw his Kevlar at him. "Suit up, Mr. Funny."

Bill stepped forward, shaking hands with all three of them and sobering their expressions. "Good luck. I don't plan on losing any friends today, so make sure you all make it home, okay?"

"We will," Ava said.

Hoisting their gear, the three of them headed toward the plane. Bill watched them until they disappeared into the sky and then sighed, moving back toward his car.

************************

Bill sat at his desk, his eyes locked on a file in front of him, but his brain not registering any of the words. He was really just waiting for Chloe to contact him, to tell him that they had reached their location and were going in.

The phone on his desk rang, causing him to jump. Admonishing himself under his breath, he reached over and picked it up.

"Buchanan."

"Sir? There's a New York City detective here to see you."

The director frowned. "You've checked him out?"

"Yes, sir."

His interest piqued, Bill nodded. "Give him a visitor's pass and escort him up, please."

"Yes, sir."

Standing up, Bill straightened his suit jacket and waited for his visitor. He wondered if Mac Taylor had come, wanting to know where Connelly had disappeared to. But when Security brought the man in, he was much younger than Bill knew Taylor to be. He was tall, dressed in a dark blue suit with piercing eyes to match. As soon as Security left, he strode forward, one hand stretched out.

"Bill Buchanan?"

The CTU director nodded. "Yes. And you are?"

"Don Flack. I'm Ava Connelly's partner."

Bill smiled. "Of course. And how do you like working with Ava?"

Don grinned, his eyes dancing. "She's a handful – and a hell of a lot of fun."

The older man laughed, immediately taking a liking to the detective. "That pretty much sums it up." He gestured to a chair before taking his seat. "Now what can I do for you?"

Flack sat down, his entire demeanor changing as his expression became serious. "I know where Ava and Curtis are headed right now. And I know that they're going to rescue a friend."

Bill froze, his expression blank as he weighed his options. "Oh?"

"I also know that the mission is secret, and that you're running it."

"Why are you telling me all of this, Detective?"

"I'm bettin' you're not just gonna sit here while your agents are runnin' a dangerous op like this one. You'll wanna be in contact with them the whole time." He paused. "And I wanna be there while you are."

The request caught him off-guard, and for a minute, Bill was silent. He studied the young man before him, taking in his determined expression. The detective sat up straight, his gaze never wandering – and it was his eyes that finally pushed Bill to make his decision. Underneath all that confidence and strength, Don Flack was worried about his partner. Taking a deep breath, he nodded.

"Then we should go now."

**************************

"Nice place," Don commented as Bill led him into the house.

"Thanks."

The detective followed him as he moved deeper into his home. They eventually came to a study in the downstairs den, and Flack stared at the elaborate computer set-up.

"Run rogue operations a lot?" he asked.

Bill gave him a half-smile as he turned the monitors on. "It happens more than you would think."

The phone rang then, and the older man pushed a button, putting it on speaker. "Chloe?"

"We're here."

"You're parked in the neighboring lot?"

"Yeah. Curtis and Ava are getting ready to head in." There was a pause. "Their earpieces are in now. They should be able to hear you."

"Ava?"

"Hey, Bill."

"I have a surprise for you."

"Usually I like surprises. But in this situation, they could be very bad."

He smiled. "It's a good one, I promise." He nodded at Don.

"Hey Connelly."

"Don!?!?"

"You didn't really think I'd let you go gallavantin' halfway across the world without checkin' up on ya, did ya?"

She chuckled, and he could just see her shaking her head at him. "So that whole thing where I told you to stay home…?"

"Yeah, my listenin' ears don't work too good these days."

Ava sighed. "Bill, keep him out of trouble."

"Will do. Are you two ready to head in?"

"As soon as Chloe hacks into their security cameras." Another pause, and more shuffling, and then multiple camera views appeared on Bill's computer screens. "You should see them now."

"We do," the director replied. "Chloe, I thought I was going to have to let you onto my network to do that."

"Would have taken too long, so I just hacked into your system."

He sighed. "Of course."

"Alright, Bill," Curtis said. "Connelly and I are heading in."

"I'm cutting off Bill and Don," Chloe said. "They'll be able to talk to me, but it's safer if I'm the only one on the comm."

"Good," Ava replied. "Don won't be able to yell at me until _after_ the mission."

"Just be careful," Bill told them. "You guys pull this off and I'll take everyone out for a nice dinner."

"I should hope so," she murmured, her voice still coming through clear. "See you when we get back," she said to Chloe.

Don and Bill heard the van door slide open.

***************************

Both of them wore masks as they descended into the basement of the building next door. Bill's blueprints had told them that the two warehouses were connected, and that entry would be easiest underground. Security cameras were everywhere along their route, though, and they wanted to make sure that they couldn't be identified later on.

They passed three guards on their way in. Curtis raised his gun and put a bullet in each of their heads, the silencer muffling the sound. They moved quickly and quietly, Chloe's voice low in their ears as she kept them updated on their path.

Eventually, they came to a long hallway, with doors situated on either side. Mindless gibbering could be heard in more than one language, and from somewhere deeper in the basement, they heard a man screaming. Ava shuddered, her mind sickened by imaginings of what that person was enduring.

"He should be in the sixth room on the left," Chloe murmured.

They had almost reached the door when there was a shout behind them. Curtis turned and immediately opened fire, drawing their bullets away from Ava as she knelt by the lock and got to work on it. It was only a matter of seconds before she had the door open, and then she was in the room, crawling on her hands and knees toward the huddled figure in the corner.

Tentatively, she reached out and rested her hand on his shoulder. "Jack?" she whispered.

The face that turned toward her was that of a broken man. His hollow eyes stared at her uncomprehendingly, and Ava longed to take the mask off. But she couldn't, not yet. Her eyes watered as she took him in – the long matted hair, the scarred hands and face, the defensive body language. His captors had done everything they could to strip him of the man he had once been.

"I'm so sorry," she murmured.

This time he reacted, pulling away from her and pushing her away. Ava tried to calm him down, to make him understand that he was with a friend now, but nothing she said made any difference. His attempts to get away from her became more wild, and eventually he landed a punch that sent her sprawling.

"I could use some help in here!" she yelled.

"Switch!" Curtis called back.

As he ducked into the room, Ava went out, rolling across the floor of the hallway to avoid getting hit with any bullets. She saw that Curtis had taken out the first wave of guards, but more were flooding the corridor, and they needed to get out soon, or they would be trapped.

Glancing into the cell, she saw her friend pick Jack up and sling him over one shoulder. Vaguely, she wondered if he had knocked him out – not that it really mattered at this point. As he turned to join her, Ava tensed, ready to spring at a moment's notice.

"More guards are coming!" Chloe warned them. "Get out of there!"

She heard a clatter, as though Chloe had dropped her headset, but she didn't have time to worry about it. The guards were now at the intersection of hallways where they had turned, and were effectively blocking their escape.

"When I go, you run, okay?" Ava asked. "Get him to the van."

"Got it. Don't get dead on me."

She didn't answer. Springing forward, she ran at full speed before launching herself into the knot of guards. They all went crashing to the ground, and Ava immediately started throwing kicks and punches wherever she could, trying to hit as many men as she could. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Curtis stream past her with Jack, and she counted in her head until she was sure that they'd had enough time to take another few turns.

By then, a couple of the guards were struggling to their feet. Ava lashed out once more with her feet, a pained grunt telling her that she had hit at least one of her marks. Then she threw herself out of the fray, pushing herself to her feet as soon as she was free and starting to run.

When she was halfway down the hall, a loud racket echoed around her, and sharp pain laced through her from several points on her body. One of her knees gave out and she fell to the floor, turning to see what had happened.

One of the guards was back on his feet and advancing on her, a strange-looking weapon in his hands. It took her a moment to realize that it was a high-powered nail gun, and that the pain she felt was from the nails that had pierced her skin.

Even as she struggled to her feet again, Ava knew that she wasn't going to make it. The guard had come too far, and the others were getting up as well. He'd be on her in a matter of seconds, and there was no telling what they would do to her when they caught her.

Reaching into one of the pockets of her vest, she frantically searched. And as her hand wrapped around the familiar shape, she pushed herself to her feet once more, ignoring the pain that shot through her.

"Sorry, Bill," she muttered.

She pulled the pin and launched the grenade at the men. Without waiting to see where it hit, she turned and raced forward, counting in her head the number of seconds she had.

She was two hallways further when the explosion rocked through the basement. The walls shook, and it took focus for Ava to stay on her feet. But still she didn't look back – the corridors would probably funnel the fire right to her, and she had no intention of sticking around for that.

Curtis was waiting for her at the stairs leading up into the neighboring building. He had set Jack down on the ground and was breathing hard – Ava thought she saw more than one bullet hole in his shirt.

"You weren't supposed to burn the place down."

"Extreme situations, extreme measures…you know the drill," she panted.

"You get hit?"

"I'll live. We gotta get out of here."

"Chloe's not answering her comm unit."

Ava stopped, the implications of that running through her head. Forcing herself to calm down, she closed her eyes for a moment.

"Then let's go now. If she's in trouble, we can't help her from here."

She knew that they made quite a sight running through the warehouse and out into the parking lot beyond. But no one stopped them, apparently too shocked to do anything but point and stare.

They burst out into the sunshine, momentarily blinded. But they angled toward the van, watchful of any pursuit that might show up.

"Throw him in," Ava said. "I'll drive –"

The force of the bomb threw them to the ground, the heat of the flames pushing them back. Lifting her head, Ava looked on in despair at the burning remnants of their van.


	13. Chapter 13

Fear clutched at Ava's heart as she stared at the burning chunk of twisted metal that used to be their van. The fire was hot, and close enough that it felt like the ends of her hair were singed. Fighting against the despair that threatened to choke her, Ava pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the way her hands shook, and the stares of curious onlookers.

"Chloe?" Her voice didn't work right, most of the sound never making it out of her throat.

There was movement to her left, and she turned to see Jack struggling to his feet. It was the first time since they had rescued him that she saw anything but a blank expression on his face, and as he turned his head to face her, she realized that she preferred that expression to the horror and pain in his eyes right then.

"Chloe?" he asked, his choked voice mirroring hers.

"Uh, guys?"

They all spun to see Chloe standing a short distance away, a gun held awkwardly in her hands.

Ava's jaw dropped. "But…you…the van…"

"I left," she said. "You guys were getting bombarded down there, and I thought…it was stupid okay? I was going to try and help." Her eyes met Jack's. "Hey."

"Chloe," he breathed.

"Yeah, now might not be the best time for a reunion, guys. I'm sure people are still chasing us, and they're probably gonna come pouring out of that building any second now," Curtis pointed out.

Without another word, all of them began to run into the heart of the city, trying to use buildings and cars as cover against the pursuit they knew would be coming. Jack had no problem keeping up with them, and Ava knew that it was coming back to him – the desire and the will to survive, to fight.

No matter how fast they ran, though, they stood out like a hand full of sore thumbs. Waves of Asian faces surrounded them, and between the blood and soot on Curtis and Ava, and the haggard mental patient look of Jack, she realized that it wouldn't take a genius to figure out in which direction they had gone. Glancing behind them once more, Ava led her friends down a quieter street and then came to a stop, letting everyone catch their breath.

"We need wheels," she said.

Curtis stepped forward and pressed a small button on the device she wore on her ankle. "Might help if we turned the GPS tracker on, too."

"What's our exit plan?" Jack asked, frowning at how foreign the words felt.

"We've got a plane waiting for us," Curtis told him.

"Now we just have to get there," Ava muttered. She looked around, letting her mind work through the problem. Finally, her eyes settled on a medium-sized car, and she sighed. "You know what? Let's do this the easy way."

Walking up to the car, she pulled her gun and turned it so that she was holding it by the barrel. She raised her elbow and turned her face away before slamming her arm back into the glass and shattering it. Then she reached in and unlocked the doors, opening the driver's side and turning back to face her friends.

"You coming or what?"

They piled into the car, with Chloe and Jack in the backseat, and Curtis up front with her. It took Ava a minute to hotwire the engine, but soon the car was running and she was pulling out of the side street and onto the main drag.

"I really hope this doesn't turn into another car chase," Curtis mumbled.

Keeping her eyes on the road, Ava frowned. "It's been ages since you've been in a car chase with me."

"And yet the harrowing memory is still fresh in my mind."

She shook her head, checking out her mirrors. "I don't think that's gonna happen this time around."

"Oh really?"

"Doesn't look like we're being followed yet. We might even be blending in." She glanced in the rearview mirror at Chloe. "I don't suppose you managed to save your laptop from the fiery furnace?"

"No. I didn't really expect it to be blown up."

"Understandable."

"I can call Bill, though. We set up secure cell phones before we left, and I had mine in my pocket. So I might be able to use him as our eyes and ears."

"Sounds good." Ava raised an eyebrow at Curtis, who was shrugging out of one of his shirts. "Are you going to do a striptease? Because that might attract attention."

He glared at her, handing his shirt to Jack. "I thought maybe he'd appreciate a semi-clean shirt that he hasn't been wearing for the past year." He turned his head. "Sorry 'bout the holes, man. Some close calls in there."

"Trust me, it's the best present I've gotten in a long time." He changed his shirt, sighing in relief at the feel of something new on his skin. "In case we're too busy running for our lives later…thank you. For coming for me."

"I'm sorry it took me so long to find you," Chloe said her eyes not meeting his.

Jack gave her a small smile. "It doesn't matter. It just helps to know that you were looking, and that you came. Even if I don't make it out of here, I won't die in that prison."

"You're not dying in this country," Ava said firmly. "Bill gave us strict orders to keep everyone alive."

His lips twitched slightly, and he almost smiled. "You never were very good with orders."

"Everyone's making with the jokes," she muttered. "Chloe?"

"Yeah?"

"When you call Bill, ask him if anybody else knew about this mission."

She frowned. "I know they didn't. Why?"

"Because I want to know who the hell blew up our van and how the hell they knew we were there."

*************************

Bill nearly lunged at the phone when it rang. He had been in the middle of a conversation with Chloe when she said that she had to go, and he had spent a good minute yelling for her to come back and tell him what was going on. A little more than five minutes later, the phone had exploded with static, and they hadn't heard anything since. Slamming his finger onto the speaker button, he was vaguely aware that Don had stopped his pacing and was standing right beside him.

"Chloe?"

"It's me."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "What the hell happened out there?"

"I'm sorry I disappeared, Mr. Buchanan. It looked like Curtis and Ava were in trouble, so I went in to help them."

"You what?"

"You can yell at me later, okay?"

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What about the audio feed? Why did we lose it?"

"The van blew up."

"What?" Don asked, his voice sharp with fear. "Is Connelly okay?"

"She's fine. She wants me to tell you to breathe."

"Fat chance of that," he muttered.

"Alright, Chloe," Bill said. "Tell us what's happening."

"We stole a car. Well, Ava did. And now we're trying to get out of the city without attracting too much attention."

"Is Ava driving?"

"Yeah, but we haven't had a car chase yet. So we're doing pretty well."

"Okay, what do you need from us?"

She rattled off a bunch of technical jargon, and Bill did his best to follow it. Soon, he had city cameras up on his computer screens, and he could see police cars racing through the city in search of his agents.

"How the hell did you do that, Chloe?" he asked.

"I had a feeling something would go wrong. Since, you know…it usually does. So when I hacked into your system at the beginning of the mission, I put all the codes and information on your drive, so that you could access it in case something happened."

"God bless you, O'Brian," he said quietly. "So what street are you guys on?"

"Here, I'll put Ava on."

There was a slight shuffle as the phone was handed off.

"Bill?"

"Ava, where are you?"

"If I could read Chinese, I might be able to tell you that."

"Just describe some of the buildings you're passing. I'm looking at the city cameras."

"Okay…there's a lot of big buildings, and a really big obnoxious sign with a big obnoxious person smiling at me and holding a soda can."

"Color of the car?"

"Blue."

"Alright, I see you now." He paused, taking the time to look at all of the cameras. "You need to head out to the southwest end of the city. Once you get away from the city, there will be a clearing about twenty miles out where the pilot can land and pick you up."

"Anybody following us?"

"Police cars are all over the city, but I think they're looking for a group on foot. They're going slow, and stopping to question people."

"How did they know we were here, Bill?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. We'll worry about that later."

"Has Flack worn a hole in your carpet yet?" Ava asked.

Bill smiled. "As a matter of fact, it's right next to my own."

"That's what I thought. Alright, I'm handing the phone back to Chloe so I can focus on the driving. "

Flack leaned on the table. "Hey, Connelly?"

"Yeah?"

"Try not to give me a heart attack again, okay?"

"You're young and healthy," she retorted.

"I've got grey comin' in now. And I blame you for that."

There was a small pause. "Don't worry, boys," she said quietly. "We're coming home."

******************************

As they left the city, Chloe hung up the phone and leaned back against the seat. "We're out of range of the cameras now. Bill wants us to call him when we're on the plane. Or if there's any trouble."

"So far, so good," Ava murmured.

Jack shook his head. "I don't like it."

"Don't like what?" she asked.

"It was too easy."

She glared at him through the rearview mirror. "The nails that are still lodged in my body beg to differ."

"That's not what I mean. They knew you were there, Ava. They blew up your van. If they knew that much, then why wasn't there more of a pursuit?"

"The grace of God isn't going to be a good enough answer for you, is it?"

He shook his head again. "I know these people. Something isn't right." He paused. "We might be driving into a trap."

There was silence in the car as everyone thought about that.

"He's right," Curtis finally said, his voice quiet.

Ava sighed. "Dammit. Can't anything be easy with you people?" She sighed again. "Chloe, you've got the GPS map on the phone showing us where the plane is?"

"Yeah."

"How many miles out are we?"

"A couple."

"Okay. What if we ditch the car and walk in. We'll be able to hide easier, and scope out the plane before we show ourselves."

"Leaving the car by the side of the road might lead them to us."

"That's why I'm not leaving it by the side of the road."

A minute later, she pulled away from the road, driving towards a small lake. She stopped a short way from the water's edge and got out, the others following suit. Curtis shared a look with her over the roof of the car and nodded before searching for a stout stick on the ground. When he had found one, he handed it to her.

"I kinda feel bad for the owner of the car," she said. "It might be a really long time before they ever find out what happened to it."

"Ava…"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Desperate times and all that."

Positioning the stick between the seat and the gas peddle, Ava put the car in drive again, and they all watched it slowly move into the water.

"Hopefully that lake isn't shallow," Chloe said.

"Pessimist," Ava muttered. "Alright, let's get out here."

They moved quickly and quietly, trying to avoid wide open spaces. Ava's body was aching by the time they neared the plane, and she knew that she needed to remove the nails. Glancing over, she saw that Curtis was grimacing too, and blood was flowing freely from a hole in his shirt. She didn't think it was anything more than a graze wound, but both of them were tiring. They needed to get out.

"There it is," Curtis whispered as they ducked low.

Everything looked like it should. The plane was idling in the middle of a clearing that looked to be an abandoned airstrip. The four of them hid behind a small outlying building and scoped the area out thoroughly, looking for anything that might be out of place. But all they saw was the pilot standing by his plane.

"Satisfied?" Ava asked.

Jack shook his head. "No. But I'm not sure we have any other choice. I say we go."

The pilot caught sight of them almost immediately. He raised a hand to greet them, and Curtis did the same, letting him know that they were all there and that they were safe. When they got closer, they saw that he was smiling at them and nodding.

"Glad you guys finally made it."

Ava didn't see the gun until it was too late. The pilot pulled his piece out of his holster and took aim, firing a shot off without any hesitation. There was a roar, and Jack flew into Chloe's body, knocking her out of the way just in time. The bullet grazed his calf, but Ava was already on the pilot, dragging him to the ground and wrestling the weapon away from him.

Cars burst into the clearing and men poured out of them, their guns aimed at the small group of agents. Ava's companions dove to the ground as the newcomers opened fire, trying to get to the plane.

"Fuck!" Curtis shouted, firing his own weapon and taking one of the shooters out.

"Jack!" Ava called.

When he turned to her, she tossed him a gun, and he joined Curtis in providing them with cover. Ava punched the pilot one more time, making sure that he was unconscious before she turned him over and bound his hands and feet.

"Let's go!" she bellowed.

She dragged the pilot into the plane, securing him in the back as Chloe followed her in. Jack and Curtis were the last to come, trying to provide them with as much protection as possible.

"You remember how to fly a plane?" Jack asked as she secured the door.

Curtis slid into the pilot's seat. "We're about to find out."

"Get us out of here!" Ava yelled.

The shooters on the ground continued to fire, but Curtis managed to get the plane going. He moved the bird forward, knowing that they'd either get out of his way or get run over in the process. Picking up speed, he left the airstrip behind and lifted them into the air. Once they reached altitude, they all began to breathe a little easier, and Ava glared at the unconscious man that had betrayed them.

"Call Bill," she said finally. "I want to know who this son of a bitch works for."


	14. Chapter 14

Don and Bill were at the airstrip, waiting for them to land. The detective found that his hands were shaking, and nothing he did could make them stop. Bill had made him try to get some sleep the night before, since there wasn't anything more they could do until the agents arrived back in Los Angeles. But as soon as he laid down and closed his eyes, his mind echoed with the sound of gunfire and his partner once again in danger. It didn't matter that they hadn't been able to hear the gun battle. Chloe had called them and explained the situation to them, and that was enough to send his thoughts racing, imaging every different way it could have gone.

As the plane touched down, he let out a breath that he didn't even know he'd been holding. Stealing a glance at Bill, he tried once again to steady his nerves.

"It doesn't get any easier," the older man said gently.

Flack crossed his arms, his eyes once again locked on the plane. "I'm hopin' this is her last crazy overseas mission."

Bill turned and looked at the younger man beside him, measuring him up and down. "I hope so, too," he said quietly.

************************

The relief she felt at seeing Flack standing there sent shockwaves through her. Being in China had brought her back to a world she thought she had left far behind; when she saw his face, his blue eyes searching her face desperately, it felt as though he were the anchor holding her to the life she had begun to build for herself in New York. It took everything she had not to run up to him and wrap her arms around him.

"Hey you," she said instead, a tired smile on her face.

"Hey. Glad you made it back, Connelly," he replied, his voice tight.

"Told you I would."

She turned to Bill, but he was already there, hugging her tightly. Closing her eyes, she returned the embrace, ignoring the way her body groaned in protest.

"You gave us quite a scare, Ava."

"You should be used to that by now with her."

Bill smiled at Jack, stepping forward and shaking his hand. "It's good to see you, Jack."

"It's good to be back. Thank you, Bill. For everything."

The director nodded. "No more getting kidnapped, okay?"

"Deal."

"Good. Let's get everyone back to my place. You can get cleaned up there." He turned his attention to the unconscious man that Curtis had dragged out of the plane. "Curtis? Bring him to C.T.U., please, and put him in a holding cell with a heavy guard."

"Yes sir."

The agent didn't even pick the pilot up. He simply grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him across the air strip toward a waiting vehicle.

"I'm kinda surprised you brought him back alive," Flack murmured.

Bill watched the traitor with cold eyes. "Soon, he'll wish they hadn't."

*************************

Ava lowered herself on to the bed in Bill's guest room, hissing in pain. They hadn't yet removed the nails from her body, wanting to get some place where they had antiseptic and proper medical care if it was needed. She was fairly certain that no major organs had been pierced, and now she just wanted to get them out of her, and then pop a couple pain pills and get some sleep.

There was a quiet knock on the door, and she looked up to see Flack slipping into the room. For a minute he just stood there, staring at her, almost drinking her in with his eyes. Then he was moving forward and kneeling in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

He held up his hand, and it was then that she saw the medical kit. "Let's patch you up," he said quietly.

Ava shook her head. "I can –"

"No," Don said firmly. "You've done enough by yourself, Ava. You're not alone, so don't act like it." He reached out and rested his hand on top of hers. "Let me help you."

She was too tired to argue with him, and the warmth from his hand spread across her skin and up her arm. "Okay," she whispered.

"Okay." He paused, swallowing hard. "Can you lift up your shirt, show me where they are?

Ava gave him a small smile and shook her head. "The nails are holding my shirt there. You'll have to pull 'em out first."

He winced slightly and then nodded. "Okay." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pair of pliers. "This is gonna hurt, Ava," he murmured.

"I know." She looked around. "Would it be easier if I were lying down?"

"Probably."

Ava nodded and scooted further onto the bed, maneuvering herself until she was lying on her stomach. For a moment Flack just watched her. Then he knelt on the bed beside her and took a deep breath.

"Try not to get too frisky, Flack," she quipped, her voice muffled by the pillow.

He chuckled at that, expelling some of the tension building up in his chest. "I'll do my best, Connelly."

Don reached out then, letting his fingers drift over her back. Her muscles tensed beneath his touch, and when he found the first nail, her breath hitched painfully. Closing his eyes briefly, Don took one more deep breath and then took hold of the nail head with the pliers.

It was a painful process for both of them. Ava gasped and cried out as he pulled the nails out of her body, and every sound she made caused Flack to cringe. He dropped each bloody nail into the garbage can, amazed at the strength of his partner.

When he thought he had all of the nails out, he set the pliers aside and once again ran is fingers over her back and legs. Her muscles didn't tense this time, and he was thorough in making sure that there was nothing left piercing her skin.

"Okay," he said, his voice sounding loud in his ears. "You can sit up now."

She moved slowly, breathing deeply as she moved back to the edge of the bed. For a moment the two of them just sat there; Flack watched her carefully, watching as she steadied herself.

"We still need to clean the wounds," he said finally.

Ava nodded. "Yeah."

He moved his gaze to the floor, his ears turning slightly pink. "It'll be easiest if you take your shirt off."

She rolled her eyes and smirked at him. "I had a feeling you were gonna say that. Turn your head."

"Yes, ma'am."

He did as she asked, and Ava slowly removed her shirt and bra, the movements reminding her that she was going to need some rest before she was back at one hundred percent. She used her shirt to completely cover her front and then she shifted to the side so that her bare back was facing her partner.

"Okay," she said quietly.

When Flack turned back around, he stared at the angry red holes in her back. Most of them were bleeding, and his chest was tight as he reached into the medical kit and pulled out the antiseptic and gauze. Trying to ignore how soft her skin was beneath his hands, he focused on cleaning her up.

Ten minutes later, he had every wound bandaged, except for the two on the back of her right thigh. She had given him a stern look over her shoulder, telling him in no uncertain terms that she was not taking off her pants in front of him. He smiled and nodded, packing up the medical kit while she put her shirt back on.

"Thank you, Don," she said quietly.

He sat beside her again. "I should be thankin' you." When she gave him a strange look, he shrugged, looking down at the ground again. "For not dyin' over there."

She watched him closely and reached out, taking his hand in hers. "You were really worried, weren't you?"

Flack nodded, still not meeting her eyes. "Yeah, I was. I don't like you doin' stuff like that, Connelly."

"Well, I don't plan on doing anything like that again. If that makes you feel any better."

He looked up then, his blue eyes meeting hers, and sending a small shiver down her spine. "It does."

*****************************

She found him standing on the balcony, staring at the setting sun. He had shaved and cut his hair, and he almost looked like the man she knew so well. But there were scars that hadn't been there before, and a haunted look in his eyes that made her blood run cold. She stepped up beside him, letting her shoulder rub against his.

"Hey, Jack," she said quietly.

He gave her a small smile. "Hi, Ava."

"How does it feel to be home?"

"I'm not so sure this is home anymore." He took a deep breath. "But it feels good. To wear real clothes, to take a hot shower, to have a normal conversation…I was afraid you'd never come," he added quietly.

Her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry it took us so long."

"It only matters that you came." He was silent for a moment. "Bill got the information he needed out of the pilot."

"Oh?"

"He's been a plant from the beginning. A mercenary hired by a private company, and then the Chinese hired that company. They hid their tracks well."

"They had to, to get past Chloe. Do we know the name of the company?"

Jack shook his head. "That's all he would say. Bill's got someone working on him, but he doesn't have high hopes for getting anything else." He leaned his arms on the railing. "So, you're living in New York now."

"Yeah. Needed a change of scenery."

"I can understand that. Cold there, though."

Ava frowned. "Yeah, it is."

There was a small pause. "Your partner seems like a good guy."

She smiled. "He is. A pain in my ass, sometimes, but yeah. Don is a good man."

"He cares about you."

"He's become a good friend."

"I think it's more than that."

"You don't even know him, Jack."

"I know what a man looks like when he's in –"

"Stop. Don't you dare say it."

"Ava…"

"Leave it, Jack."

"You feel the same way about him."

"I do not."

He sighed. "You're going to insist on being difficult about this, aren't you?"

"I'm a difficult woman." She decided to change the subject. "So are you gonna stay in L.A.?"

Jack shook his head. "Chloe told me that Kim moved to Boston."

"Yeah, a couple months ago. I think she'll be happy to see you."

"I hope so."

Ava leaned her head on his shoulder. "I think we're gonna be okay, Jack."

He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the side of her head. "I hope so."

********************************

"You ready to go?" Curtis asked as he stepped into the room Ava was using.

She nodded. "Yeah. We still have time to do this before we catch our flight?"

"Yeah."

The drive out to the cemetery was silent, the windows open as they both breathed in the warm L.A. air. Curtis dropped her off and then moved slowly down one of the lanes, his own destination a short distance away. Ava watched him until he stopped the car and got out, and then turned to face the headstone in front of her.

"Hey, Tony," she whispered, tears already falling down her face. She lowered herself to the grass, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. "I'm sorry it's been so long since I've visited." She paused, wiping at her face. "I miss you," she whispered. "But it's getting a little easier. I've made new friends, and I've started a new life…New York is really nice. I think you'd like it." Another pause. "We got Jack back a couple days ago. Having him back…it took a lot of the pain away." She shook her head. "He thinks I have a thing for my partner. I wish I could say that I don't, but…I'm really not sure. I just don't wanna screw something up, you know? You'd like him, though. He's a good man. And he takes good care of me."

She was silent for a long time after that. There was a lot more going on in her head, but talking hurt, and it seemed to exhaust her as well. Instead, she just lowered her head and closed her eyes.

Eventually there was a sound behind her, and she turned to see Curtis standing behind her. He was keeping his distance, and giving her some privacy, but she reached her hand up to him, and he helped her to her feet.

"Are you done?" she asked quietly.

He nodded, and she could still see the tear stains on his face. "I didn't have as much to say as I thought I would."

"Nice to sit with her though, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. For just a minute, it didn't seem to hurt so much." He looked around. "Doesn't make sense, if you think about where we are."

Ava shrugged. "I don't think grief makes sense." She stepped forward, brushing her fingers across the headstone. "Bye, Tony." Looking back up at her friend, she took his hand.

"You ready?" he asked.

She nodded. "Let's get Flack and go home."


	15. Chapter 15

"Oh thank God you're home."

Ava chuckled as she closed the apartment door behind her and set her bag down on the floor, hugging her best friend.

"I didn't know you missed me so much."

"Are you kidding me?" Jen replied. She pointed to the couch, where Nightmare was perched, staring at both women. "I've explained to you how she is when you're gone."

"Aw, my baby," the detective cooed, walking over to her cat. Nightmare immediately rubbed against her, purring loudly. "Did you have a rough time with Jen?"

"Rough time my ass," her friend muttered. "Your cat is evil."

"She's just picky."

"Whatever. So where's Flack?"

"At his place, I imagine. Why?"

She shrugged. "Well, he disappeared for a few days, and it just happened to coincide with your disappearing for a few days, so…"

Ava gave her a look. "Yes, he showed up in L.A."

Jen smiled. "I thought he might have. You didn't yell at him, did you?"

"No. I was actually really glad to see him."

"Good. Did you get Jack back?"

She nodded. "Yep. Safe and sound. Well, maybe not sound. I made him promise me he'd get a shrink when he got to Boston. I'm thinking he has some unresolved issues to deal with after being tortured for so long."

Jen paused. "Boston? That's where Kim is, right?"

"Yeah. He's decided to go make things right with her."

"Good. Those two are long overdue."

"Amen to that."

She picked up her bag again, moving into her bedroom. Jen followed, watching her friend closely. But Ava just opened her bag and began to unpack, seemingly oblivious to the other's presence.

"So…did anything else happen?"

"Anything like what? We went to China, we got Jack…Oh!" She turned around. "I managed to ruin two more vehicles."

"Wow. Going for a record?"

"Well, the first one technically wasn't my fault. Someone put a bomb under it."

"And the second one?"

"I drove it into a lake and let it sink to the bottom."

"Nice."

"I thought so."

Jen crossed her arms. "Anything else?"

"I got shot with a nail gun. That sucked."

She sighed. "Are you telling me that boy flew all the way out to L.A. for you and you're _still_ in denial?"

"Technically speaking. Though before I was in severe denial. Now it's more mild." She shook her head. "What do you want, Jen? He came, and yeah, it was really nice, and it meant a lot to me. Just let us move at our own pace."

"Your own pace would make a snail frustrated," she muttered, flopping down on the bed.

Ava rolled her eyes. "If it makes you feel better, we had a moment."

"Really?"

She nodded. "He patched me up when we got back to L.A. It was…touching."

"Please tell me there was actual touching involved as well."

"Some."

"And how did it feel?"

Ava gave her a small smile, and her voice was quiet. "It's been a long time since I've felt anything like that. It felt good. Really good."

***********************

"So where the hell have you been?" Danny asked.

Flack took a seat next to him and ordered a beer. "What do ya mean?"

"I mean, you disappeared! Mac said you requested some 'personal time' and then you were just gone! I stopped by your place a few times, and you weren't there, and you didn't answer your cell. So where the hell were you?"

"I needed a vacation."

Danny snorted. "Vacation my ass." He paused. "I called Connelly, too. And she wasn't answerin' either."

Don took a long drink, and finally shook his head. "Alright, ya got me. I was with Connelly. In L.A."

"For what? A little weekend getaway? C'mon, man, talk to me!"

He hesitated for a minute, taking another drink and letting his thoughts gather. Finally, he sighed and set the bottle back down on the counter.

"She had some stuff she needed to take care of. Old work stuff."

"Fed stuff, you mean."

"Yeah."

"So…what? She invited you to come out with her?"

Flack shook his head. "Nope. I was worried about her, so I flew out."

Danny looked at him for a long moment and then sighed, shaking his head. "You got it bad, man."

"I know."

His eyes widened. "You're not even gonna try to deny it?"

"What's the point? I think it's pretty obvious how I feel about her."

Danny nodded, pausing. "She feel the same way?" he finally asked.

"Not sure. Maybe."

"You gonna make a move?"

"Maybe." Don took another drink. "You gonna give me crap about it?"

"Nope."

Flack's eyebrows shot up. "No?"

Danny shrugged. "Connelly and I've had our differences. And she's a difficult woman. But she's also one hell of a woman. So…no. I'm not gonna give you crap about it." He paused again, tilting his head in thought. "Well, I won't give ya a _lot_ of crap about it."

They both laughed. "Thanks, man."

"Don't mention it. You do have to tell me when ya ask her out, though."

"What for?"

Danny sighed. "'Cause I'm gonna owe Montana twenty bucks. She said you two would hook up from almost day one. I told her she was crazy."

"Oh yeah?"

He shrugged. "Remember, I hated Connelly at the time. And I was convinced you had better taste than that."

"And now?"

"And now…I've seen the way you look at her, Flack. And you're gonna be just as whipped as I am eventually."

Don chuckled. "Worth it, though, isn't it? For the right woman?"

Danny nodded. "Definitely worth it, man. Worth that and a helluva lot more."

********************************

Ava sighed contentedly, crawling into bed. As much as she hated being suspended, there were parts of it she liked as well, and she was going to miss having so much free time when she had to go back to work on Monday. She had baked, and cleaned, and sat on the couch with Nightmare watching old episodes of Law & Order, and finished a couple books on top of it. She had forgotten what it was like to actually relax.

Getting underneath the covers, she picked up the book she was currently reading. With less than a hundred pages to go, she was determined to finish it before she fell asleep. As she opened up to her bookmark, Nightmare jumped up to join her, rubbing her head against her hand a few times before curling up in her lap and promptly going to sleep.

Almost twenty minutes later, her phone rang, and Ava sighed. Pulling her brain away from the storyline, she heard Jen in the living room, still playing on the Wii, and then she reached over for her phone. When she saw the number on the screen, though, she smiled.

"Connelly."

"Hey," Flack greeted her warmly. "It's not too late, is it?"

"Not quite. I was just in bed with a book."

"Sounds nice. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"No worries. Just means I'll be up a little later finishing it. What's up?"

"Well, I was thinkin'…tomorrow's your last day of bein' suspended."

"Yes it is."

"And it just happens to be my day off."

"What a nice coincidence."

"Yeah." He paused. "So I thought maybe we could do somethin'…get some dinner, or lunch or somethin'."

Butterflies tickled her stomach, and she swallowed, realizing how dry her throat felt. "That sounds nice."

"What time are you free?"

"Well…I'm going to church in the morning…"

"Church?" Flack asked. "That mean you and God are doin' better?"

Ava smiled, laying back against the pillows. "Much better."

"That's good," he said, his voice sincere. "That's real good."

She hesitated slightly. "Would you…do you wanna go with me?"

He stopped, and she could hear him breathing. "You sure?"

"Yeah," she said softly. "I mean, only if you want to –"

"I do," he said quickly. "I do."

"Good. Pick me up at eight?"

"I'll be there."

"Good." She took a deep breath. "So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Absolutely. Sweet dreams, Connelly."

"Night, Don."

She hung up the phone and stared up at the ceiling. The butterflies were slowly calming down, but her throat was still dry. Biting her lip, she picked her book up again, trying to focus on anything but Don Flack.

******************

Ava smoothed down her skirt for the millionth time as the service came to a close. It felt good to be back at church; even better, it felt _right_. She had missed singing hymns and praying with other people, and she found that she had sorely missed hearing about God and His plans. She sat and listened, letting the words and the music fill a deep well inside of her.

Don sat beside her, so close that their legs touched. He had been surprised at first when she brought him to a small Baptist church outside of Midtown, but after that he had just followed her lead. They were the only two in the congregation who crossed themselves, but neither made an attempt to stop.

After the pastor gave the benediction, they filed out with everyone else, heading back out into the warm September air. There was a small park across the street, and Flack nudged her shoulder.

"Walk with me?" he asked.

She nodded.

They moved at a comfortable pace, enjoying the last vestiges of summer as they faded away. The leaves were already starting to turn, and a few had fallen from their branches, adding a splash of color to the ground.

"I thought you were Catholic," Flack finally commented, giving her a sly smile.

"I like Mass," Ava admitted. "And I think the Catholics have some things very right that the Protestants missed. But I was born and raised Baptist, and that's where my heart is." She shrugged. "And in the end, I don't think God cares what denomination I am. Just that I love Him and follow Him."

He nodded. "That sounds about right." He paused, letting his arm brush against hers. "Thanks for inviting me today," he said quietly. "It's been a while since I've been to church. And it made me realize how badly I really needed to go."

"Me too."

They walked on in silence for a couple minutes, just enjoying each other's company. Ava felt the butterflies in her stomach once again, but she pushed them down, intent on not ruining the moment with her worries.

"So do you wanna have lunch?" he finally asked.

She smiled. "Lunch sounds great."

"Where do you wanna go?"

She shrugged. "Surprise me."

Don grinned. "I can do that."

He stopped then, turning to face her. Ava stopped as well, confusion in her eyes. "Are you surprising me already?"

Slowly, he reached out, brushing a stray lock from her face. "You look really beautiful today, you know that?"

She gave him a shy smile, the butterflies flapping their wings like mad. "Thank you –"

He leaned in and kissed her. It was soft at first, almost hesitant, like he was testing the waters. If she were honest with herself, Ava could admit that she had been able to see this coming. But she had expected to pull back, for her mind to recoil at the idea of kissing a man that wasn't Tony.

Only she didn't. Her hands came up to cradle Don's face, and she pressed her lips more tightly against his. She felt his arms loop around her waist, pulling her closer, his head tilting to the side as he nudged her mouth open.

They stood there for what felt like forever, and yet it still wasn't enough. Ava quickly lost herself in the moment, letting herself do nothing but feel for the first time in almost a year. And when Flack's phone began to vibrate in his jacket pocket, she pulled back reluctantly, a blush immediately rushing to her cheeks.

Don answered the phone quietly, both assuming that he was getting called in. But when he hung up, he didn't make a move to leave.

"That was Angell."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Her and Monroe wanna know if we wanna catch lunch with them. Back in the city."

Ava gave him a small smile. "We should."

He nodded, trying to hide the disappointment in his eyes. "I'll call 'em back on the way."

"Good."

They both turned to leave the park, neither knowing exactly what to say. But as they neared the car, Don slipped his hand into hers, squeezing it gently.


	16. Chapter 16

Ava stared down at the dead body, the sounds of the city fading away behind her. The man was tall and well-built, the muscles of his arms showing through the short sleeves of his t-shirt. She could see small scars all over him, ones that you wouldn't notice unless you were examining him closely - some criss-crossed above his right eye, another disappearing up into his bottom lip, and others mottled the skin of his hands. Whoever this man had been, it was obvious that he wasn't one to back down.

Cause of death seemed simple enough. The ice pick protruding from his neck was bloody, and it was wedged in right up to the handle. She crouched down, trying to get a closer look at the wound.

"Where's your partner?" Danny called.

"Court." She looked up, pointing at the ice pick. "Seriously?"

"Looks like somebody had a beef with this guy."

She stood back up. "We got an ID?"

He shook his head, holding the camera against his chest with one hand. "No wallet, no money, no credit cards..."

"Cell phone?"

"Not that we can find."

"Which either makes him the only New Yorker over the age of twelve without a cell phone..."

"Or it means the perp took it," he said, finishing her thought. "I'm gonna put my money on that one."

Ava chuckled, holding up her hands. "No opposing bet here, Messer. You're not gettin' my money."

He shrugged. "Had to try." Lifting the camera back up, he continued to take pictures. "So Flack's in court, huh?"

"Yep." She went back to examining the scene, but she could feel his eyes on her. Sighing, she turned back to him. "You got a problem, Messer?"

Danny hesitated slightly. "You're not wearin' your jacket."

Ava frowned. "Is that a problem?"

"No. It's just...I've never seen you at work without it. You're always hidin' those big-ass Desert Eagles under it."

It was her turn to shrug, not quite meeting his eyes. "I'm not carryin' those today. So I didn't need the jacket."

He nodded. "Ya look nice."

She rolled her eyes, but her smile betrayed her. "Thanks." She looked around. "Where's Lindsay?"

"Doctor."

Her smile faded away. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine..." He took a deep breath, but couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "She's pregnant," he said quietly.

Ava's eyes widened, and her smile came back. "What? You two are having a baby?"

He nodded. "Yeah, we are."

She walked over and gave him a big hug before kissing him softly on the cheek. "Congratulations, Danny," she said quietly.

He shrugged uncomfortably, but he was still grinning. "Thanks." After a moment, he pointed to the victim. "Uh...I hate to ruin the moment, but...dead body."

She stepped back. "Right. Work. I'll go question witnesses."

"Good luck."

"If Lindsay were here, I'd so make you come with me."

"I gotta stay with the scene."

Ava shook her head and started to walk away. "Yeah, yeah."

*******************************

"Knock, knock."

Mac looked up to see Ava standing in the doorway of his office. Giving her a small smile, he waved her in, gesturing to the seat in front of his desk.

"Welcome back," he said quietly.

"Thanks. I was starting to go a little stir crazy at home."

"We're happy to have you with us again. Especially your partner."

She shrugged, her mind shying away from the memories that threatened to pop up. "Someone's gotta keep him out of trouble."

Mac chuckled. "I think he might see it the other way around. So tell me about the case."

"So far all we've got is a dead body. Ice pick to the neck. Sid confirmed exsanguination as C.O.D. No witnesses. Sid also told us that the body was moved after being killed. So we've got a dump site instead of a primary crime scene."

He frowned. "Have you identified the victim?"

She shook her head. "He had nothing on him. Danny ran the prints, but came up empty."

"Cell phone?"

"Nope."

Mac leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers along the desk. "I don't like where this is going."

"Well, get ready to not like it even more. During the autopsy, Sid found that our vic had screws in his left foot."

"Those usually have serial numbers."

"Usually. These were filed off." She paused. "We're not lookin' at a normal John Doe here, Mac."

He nodded slowly. "So what's your next move?"

"That's why I'm here, actually. I wanted to run that by you."

Mac's eyebrows shot up. "Usually you do first and then justify later."

Ava shrugged. "There used to be a time when I could get my way without steamrolling over people. I wouldn't mind getting back to that."

He thought for a moment and then leaned forward, his arms on the desk. "What did you have in mind?"

She watched him closely, and she could tell by his eyes that he was already giving her thoughts more credence. It had taken a lot for her to come in and ask for permission, but she knew it would go a long way towards smoothing things out between her and Mac.

"Obviously this guy had his surgery done underground. No doctor in a hospital would file down the serial number."

"Agreed."

"Which usually means that person is mixed up in things of...questionable legality."

Mac nodded, leaning back again. "But he's not in our database."

"Right. _Our_ database. Doesn't mean he's not in others."

"I'm listening."

"C.T.U. has a whole system that matches faces to names and known aliases. If this guy is one of the bad guys, chances are he'll be in it."

He frowned. "You want to bring the feds in?"

"No. Just Curtis Manning. He can do this under the table, Mac, and he can do it fast."

He stared at her for a moment, his eyes unreadable. "Fast and quiet?"

She nodded. "Absolutely."

Mac nodded. "Then go do it."

***************************

"He doesn't look too good," Curtis commented when she handed him the picture.

Ava rolled her eyes. "He's dead."

"So what am I supposed to do with him?"

"We can't ID him, but I think he's a player. I want you to run him through the CTU database."

Curtis frowned. "You know I don't do any of the technical stuff."

"By you, I meant Chloe."

His eyes narrowed. "Does Taylor know you're doing this?"

Ava nodded. "I asked permission and everything."

"And he's just gonna let CTU help out?"

"Well...I told him that you could do it quick and quiet."

"But I'm gonna send the picture to Chloe."

Ava shrugged. "Who's Chloe gonna tell?"

"Bill."

"Who's Bill gonna tell?"

He sighed. "Hopefully no one. Don't need you getting in trouble again at work. But I'll send it right over, see what they can get."

She smiled. "Thank you, Curtis."

***********************************

Ava leaned back in her chair, staring at the file in front of her. Just as she had expected, Chloe did her work quickly, and she had sent back an I.D. within the hour. And now that Ava had a name to put with her John Doe, she wondered what the hell was going on.

There was a small knock on the door and she looked up to see Jen standing there. Frowning, she set the file down.

"Hi," Jen said brightly.

"Hi," Ava replied slowly. "Is there a reason you're visiting me at work?"

"I can't just come see you?"

"I find it mildly unlikely since you have a job of your very own."

"It's almost five," Jen pointed out. "I get out of work at four, remember?"

Flack came up behind her, edging around to get into the office. He looked Jen up and down with an appreciative smile.

"You look nice today."

Jen beamed. "Thank you."

Ava's eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute. I know those shoes."

"Well they're certainly not yours –"

"Those are your date shoes!" she exclaimed.

Flack frowned. "Date shoes?"

"You have a date!" Ava accused.

Jen shrugged. "I might…"

Her friend frowned. "But you're in my lab…why are you in my lab with your date shoes?"

She sighed. "Because my date happens to work in your lab."

"What? Who?"

"Hey, Jen."

They all turned to see Hawkes stepping into the room, his jacket on. Realization dawned on Ava, and her mouth dropped open.

"You have a date with Hawkes!?"

"Breathe, Connelly," Sheldon said with a smile. "You look like you're about to have a coronary."

She took his advice, breathing slowly as she adjusted to the situation. "You two know you're not allowed to screw this up, right? Because I work with him, and I live with her, and I am not dealing with the awkward if this goes south."

Jen walked over and hugged her friend tightly. "Don't worry. This isn't casual."

"It better not be," she muttered. Then she rolled her eyes and waved at them dismissively. "Have a good time. Don't stay out all night."

"Yes, mother," Jen grinned.

She walked back to Hawkes and he wrapped an arm around her and nodded to the two detectives. Then they turned and walked out, smiling and talking together. When they were gone, Flack smirked at her as he sat down.

"You okay there, Connelly?"

"I'll live." She saw him open his mouth to say something else, but she picked up the file from her desk and cut him off. "So we've got an I.D. on the vic Danny and I got this morning." His eyes flashed with disappointment, but Ava just kept talking. "Do you wanna know what he did for a living?"

Flack sighed, dropping her gaze. "Sure."

"Assassin."

He frowned, his eyes shooting up again. "What?"

"Our vic was a paid assassin. Very good at what he did, apparently. Highly sought after."

"And now he's dead."

She nodded. "Which would suggest that someone got the better of him. Which does not make me anxious to meet the murderer." She stood up, the file still in her hands.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I have to go tell Mac what I just told you."

Don sighed again. "Why won't you talk about it?"

"About what?"

"The fact that we kissed."

"Because…right now, we're at work. And I have a murderer to find."

"You've been avoiding me."

"You were in court for most of the day."

"What about yesterday?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "Don…"

"We have to talk about it, Ava."

"I know," she whispered. "Just…not now, okay? Please."

He stared at her for a moment and then finally nodded, his eyes sad. "Soon, though."

"Soon," she promised. And then she was gone.

Flack sighed and stared at his desk for a long time after she left. Eventually, his eyes came to settle on a small envelope peeking out from underneath a pile of folders. Frowning, he picked it up. It had his name written on the front, but there was nothing else to indicate where it had come from. He turned it over and found that it was open, and he pulled a small piece of paper out. Flipping it over, he read the note, his frown deepening.

_You'll never be enough._


	17. Chapter 17

Ava stared down at the files in front of her, the words blurring together. They had three victims in one week, and they all had one thing in common - they were high-paid assassins. Someone was killing killers, and they were doing it in the middle of Manhattan.

But they had no leads. The murder weapon had been different in each case, and they hadn't found fingerprints or fibers. There were no witnesses, and the police were at the point where all they could do was wait for the next victim. That idea didn't sit well with anyone, and the entire force was on edge.

Ava took a deep breath and once again tried to focus. There was something about this case that tickled at her memory, but she couldn't place it. She had stared at the victims' faces for hours, and she was convinced that she didn't know any of them from her days as a federal agent. So the clue had to be somewhere else. If only she could find it.

She smelled something good all of a sudden, and she looked up to see Flack and Danny carrying a box of pizza into the office.

"Mmm. Food."

Don smiled, setting the box down on her desk. "We even made half of it your favorite."

Danny grunted as he pulled up a chair, jerking his thumb at his friend. "He did. I still think there's somethin' wrong with ya for not likin' sausage."

Ava opened the box and breathed in deeply. "White pizza is a beautiful thing, Messer. It's not my fault you can't appreciate it."

Taking a slice and perching on the corner of his desk, Flack nodded at the files. "Find anything yet?"

She shook her head as she swallowed. "I know there's something there. I just can't put my finger on it."

"You're sure you didn't tango with these guys in L.A.?" Danny asked.

"Positive. And I sent the pictures to Curtis to I.D. them, and he doesn't recognize them either."

"Mac's not gonna be happy if the feds try to take this one away from us."

"They won't," Ava said firmly.

"How do you know?"

"Because officially, C.T.U. knows nothing about this."

"You're tellin' me that your buddy there did all this checkin' up for you without anybody gettin' suspicious?"

"I'm saying that he can keep a secret. And if anyone found out what he was doing, he'd make sure it would only be someone we could trust."

Danny frowned. "How the hell would he do that?"

Ava shrugged as she grabbed another piece of pizza. "He's good at his job."

The C.S.I. took one more slice and stood up. "I'm goin' back to the lab."

"For what?" Flack asked.

He shrugged. "Go over the evidence again. Nobody kills three people without leavin' some kind of trace. I'm gonna find it."

"Good luck, man."

When Danny was gone, the other two continued to eat in silence. Ava almost wished she had an excuse to leave – she had managed to avoid a serious conversation with Don ever since their kiss, and she knew that it was easier that way.

She could admit that she had enjoyed the kiss. More than enjoyed it, really. For the first time in a long time, she had felt like she was living her life again, like maybe her heart didn't have to stay broken forever. But after she had gotten back to her apartment, she had started thinking through things more clearly. She and Don would never work, and she needed to keep things from going any further.

"Hey, Connelly?"

She looked up to see Don staring down at her, his blue eyes piercing. "Yeah?"

"Why won't you talk about this?"

Her throat went dry, and she had trouble swallowing. Part of her wanted to deny that there was anything to talk about, while the rest of her really just wanted to reach up and kiss him again. Before she could say anything, though, her phone rang. Don blinked and pulled back slightly, disappointment on his face. As she answered the phone, Ava realized that she had seen that look on him too much in the past week.

"Connelly."

"Grab your partner," Mac said. "We've got another dead body."

"You think it's our fourth victim?"

"Old scars on the hands and face, impressive musculature in the upper body…I think so."

He gave her the address, and she jotted it down. "We'll be right there." Hanging up, she got to her feet and grabbed her autumn jacket. "We got a body."

******************************

For the first time in her life, Ava actually regretted eating pizza. As she stared down at what was most likely their fourth victim, she swallowed quickly, struggling to keep her food down. Even Flack had paled at the sight, and she knew it took a lot to rattle him.

"The Chief is breathing down my neck about this," Mac told them.

"Not surprising," Don muttered.

Ava sighed. "They gouged his eyes out! Who the hell does that?"

Stella paused as she took pictures and shook her head. "It's like this guy is playing a very sick and twisted game. And we're just following along…"

Ava froze, the other woman's words replaying in her head. That's exactly what this was – a sick game. Someone was toying with them. Something in her memory flickered again, and she focused in on it, determined to not let it go this time…

"Ava?" Mac asked. "Are you alright?"

She exhaled loudly as her eyes widened. She had caught hold of the memory. "I might have something."

"What?"

"Back in L.A., there was this guy…he liked to play twisted games with people."

"I'm sure that description fits more people than we would like –"

She looked up. "He used assassins."

Mac frowned. "Did he kill them?"

"Indirectly."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning he liked to set things up and watch other people doing the heavy lifting." She stood up. "I need to make a few phone calls."

Her boss reached out, taking a hold of her arm and making her face him. "I don't want to lose this case to the feds."

"You won't. Trust me, Mac. Nobody's gonna take this case away from you. But if I'm right about this, we need to know where the hell this guy is."

He glanced down at the phone she had pulled out. "Unofficial channels?"

She nodded. "Unofficial channels."

"Then do it."

Ducking under the crime scene tape, Ava headed away from the crowd. She didn't want to be right about this. She had spent a lot of time talking to a priest after her run-in with this man, and the idea that he might be back sent chills up and down her body. Rounding a corner, she headed for a quieter street before making her call to Curtis.

"Connelly!"

She turned to find Flack jogging towards her. "What's up?"

He stopped in front of her. "We need to talk."

"Now? Flack, we've got a killer running around the city. I have to call Curtis –"

"And you can wait five minutes to at least give me a clue as to what you're thinkin'."

She sighed, fists clenching at her sides. And when she spoke, she didn't quite meet his eyes. "We can't do this, Flack. Us. It can't happen."

"Why not?"

She had expected that hurt look in his eyes again, but instead he was staring her down, backing her into a corner where she would have to admit things to him. Heart pounding, she tried to think of a way out of the conversation."

"We don't work."

"We do." He leaned closer, tipping her chin up. "You felt it, didn't you?" he asked quietly. "When I kissed you. It felt right, Ava."

"Don –"

"Tell me it felt right."

She pushed at his chest. "Fine!" she yelled. "It felt right! But that doesn't change anything! You and I, we don't work! We never could!"

"But why, Ava? What about us doesn't work?"

She shook her head. "I'm a difficult woman, Don. You wouldn't want to put up with that –"

He smirked. "I like difficult."

"Not this kind you don't. I've got these…rules, Don. And I couldn't possibly expect you to go by them –"

"What rules?" he asked. "Just tell me. Give me a chance to decide whether or not I can live with 'em."

Hands on her hips, Ava took a deep breath, staring out at the traffic on the next road. "You have to love my cat," she said quietly.

Flack chuckled. "I can handle that. As long as she doesn't have to love me back. Your cat's picky."

"What about your allergies?"

"That stuff you gave me works great. I can deal with Nightmare. What's the next rule?"

She shook her head, still not meeting his eyes. "You have to go to church. I know you can't make it every Sunday because of work, but God is an important part of my life and I can't be with someone –"

"I can do church," he cut in. "Especially that one we went to last week."

"But you were raised Catholic –"

"Which is why I don't go a hell of a lot. But I believe, Ava. You know that as well as anybody. Faith isn't an issue here." He paused. "Any more?"

"Don –"

"So far I'm two for two, Connelly. You really think you got a rule I ain't willin' to follow –"

She threw up her hands. "I don't believe in sex before marriage!" she yelled.

People walking by turned to stare, but Ava just crossed her arms and stared down at the ground.

"Okay."

Her head shot up, and she finally looked at Flack. He stood there, hands in his pockets as he just smiled at her.

"What?" she asked.

"I said okay."

She frowned in confusion. "Okay as in…you're okay with that? Or okay as in you give up and you agree that we don't work now?"

"I'm okay with your rules. I mean, I'm assumin' that was it." He paused, looking at her closely. "That was supposed to be the deal breaker, wasn't it? You thought I'd never agree to that."

"Wait…are you saying you'd date me, even if I'm not going to sleep with you?"

"Not going to sleep with me until I marry you. Yeah, Connelly, I'm sayin' I'd do that."

"But…why?"

He stepped forward, his face serious as he reached out and touched her cheek. "'Cause that's what you do for someone ya care about. I'm willin' to play by your rules, Ava. I'm just askin' that you give me a chance."

She raised her hand to hold it against his and took a deep breath. But before she could answer him, her phone rang, and she closed her eyes.

"Dammit." Looking at him again, she squeezed his hand. "I promise this time we'll pick this up later."

"Promise?" he asked quietly.

Ava kissed his cheek. "I promise."

He nodded and stepped away. Instead of disappointment this time, though, she saw a hope in his eyes, and it startled her to realize how happy she was that she had given that to him. As he turned the corner and headed back to the crime scene, she glanced down at her phone and saw that it was Curtis.

"Hey," she answered. "We might have a problem."

****************************************

"Have you heard from Ava?" Stella asked as she and Mac sat down at the table. The waiter came over and took their drink orders before he could answer.

"Do you really want to spend our dinner talking about work?"

"Well, I figure if we talk about it now, that means we won't have to talk about it after."

He chuckled. "Valid point."

"So did you hear from her?"

Mac nodded. "She's still checking it out. Won't give me a name until she knows where he is."

"That must be driving you crazy."

"I'm trying to give her some leeway. Maybe then she'll talk things out with me more often instead of deciding it's easier to just go around me."

Stella smiled. "You make a great leader, you know that?" He blushed slightly, and she laughed. "She's come a long way, hasn't she?"

"She has. I'm not afraid she's going to blow up half of Manhattan every time I send her out now."

"That's an improvement."

Mac reached over and took her hand in his. "That's enough about Ava, and about work."

She blushed slightly as he ran his thumb over her knuckles. "Did you have anything particular in mind?"

He shrugged. "Anything but work. For one night, let's just pretend we're normal people on a date, without any other responsibilities."

Stella studied him carefully. "It's been a long time since you've wanted to be normal, Mac."

"It's easy to want that when I'm with you. For the first time in awhile, Stella…I actually look forward to the end of my shift."

"Good," she whispered, her eyes dancing in the soft light. "You deserve to be happy."

He squeezed her hand. "I am."

************************************

Ava walked without really paying attention, hands deep in the pockets of her jacket. Autumn was in full swing, and a crisp breeze blew down the streets of Manhattan, pushing her hair off her shoulders. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply, enjoying the fresh air.

There was just too much going on inside of her head. Between the killings, and who might be behind them, and the situation with Flack, she was having trouble thinking her way through things logically. She had gotten a hold of Chloe earlier in the day, and she was still waiting for the computer analyst to get back to her. Until then, she couldn't do anything more about the homicides.

Don was another story. He was right – she had been expecting her rules to push him away, to convince him that he didn't really want to pursue her. But he had accepted them without any hesitation, telling her that he would do whatever he had to to make it work.

Ava could admit that she wasn't feeling guilty about having fallen for a man other than Tony – that possibility had always been in the back of her mind, and subconsciously she had been preparing for it. But she was still afraid. Afraid that this wouldn't work, that Don would grow tired of her boundaries, that they would ruin a partnership and a friendship that had come to mean the world to her.

Afraid that he might not care as deeply for her as she found herself caring for him.

Voices reached her, and she looked up, seeing that she had reached a restaurant. A couple exited the door right in front of her and she quickly recognized Mac and Stella. She stopped, watching as they turned away and headed down the street, their fingers entwined.

Ava couldn't help but smile. She had often wondered about those two. There was something about the way they stood, the glances they shared…they knew each other inside and out, and had a trust between them that most people struggled for years to achieve. And they made it all look effortless.

She had never seen Mac so at ease. The worry lines that usually creased his face were smoothed away as he turned to look at the woman beside him, and Ava realized that with Stella, he was finally home.

They turned a corner and disappeared from sight, but still she stood there, her mind working through things. Everyone deserved to be happy, and that included herself. Reaching into her pocket, she fished out her phone.

"Flack."

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Hey. What's up?"

She shuffled her feet, glad he couldn't see her. "I was thinking…I mean…do you wanna get dinner?"

He paused. "You askin' me out, Connelly?" he asked cautiously.

Ava couldn't help but blush. "Yeah. I am. I was thinking maybe Corsini's…I'm standing outside of it now."

She could practically feel his grin through the phone. "I'm on my way."


	18. Chapter 18

"You look good in this office, you know that?"

Ava looked up in surprised to see Curtis leaning against her doorway. Giving him a large smile, she waved him in.

"Do I, now?" she asked.

He nodded, perching on the edge of her desk. "I think cop suits you better than federal agent."

"I'm not sure everyone would agree with that," she muttered.

Curtis shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I've seen you do both jobs, and I think you're happier here. There's no torture or constant threat of explosions. You have rules to play by, and you work with people who play by those rules, too."

She thought about it for a moment. "You're probably right. Besides," she said with a smirk, "the badge is nicer for NYPD."

"You feel pretty cool yelling it too, don't ya?"

"Oh yeah." She paused, resting her chin in one hand. "So what brings you here?"

"You asked Chloe and I to look into something for you."

Ava sat back slowly, her body tensing. "And?"

"And Christopher Henderson is in New York."

She closed her eyes and let out the breath she had been holding. She hadn't wanted it to be him. As memories came flooding back to her, Ava reopened her eyes and tried to think of what her next move would be.

"I hate that sick bastard," she muttered.

"I know," Curtis said quietly. "You really think this is his work?"

"It would be a hell of a coincidence if it wasn't."

"So what's the plan?"

"I tell Mac."

He chuckled. "Look at you, playing by the rules again."

"Trust me. I have no desire to take this guy on again on my own. That didn't go so well the last time."

"You survived."

More memories flashed in her mind, and she shook her head. "Barely." Taking a deep breath, she gave him a small smile. "Thanks for checking this out for me, Curtis."

"Anytime."

Ava narrowed her eyes, looking at him more closely. "How are you doing? You haven't been by lately for dinner."

"You've been busy with your new boyfriend."

"I'm never too busy for you, Curtis."

"I know that." He paused. "How are you and Flack doing?"

"We were talking about you, not me."

"Humor me."

Ava rolled her eyes, smiling. "Don and I are doing fine, thank you."

"You're happy?"

Her smile broadened. "I'm very happy."

"Good."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are _you_ happy?"

He stared out the window behind her. "I haven't been happy for a long time, Ava" he said quietly. "Not since…" He shook his head. "I haven't been dealing with it as well as you have."

She reached out and took his hand, squeezing it. "But you've been dealing. And that's more than a lot of people would have the strength to do. Just keep holding on, okay?"

Curtis stood up and moved toward the door. "I'm not as strong as you," he said. "I never have been."

"You're stronger than you think you are."

He turned back to look at her again. "You'll let me know if you need any help with Henderson?"

Ava stared at him for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah. I'll let ya know."

He nodded once and left the room.

**************************

"What, are we goin' back to school?" Danny asked as the team filed into the room and they saw the white board set up.

Ava rolled her eyes. "You can always learn new things, Messer."

"And what are we learning today?" Mac asked.

"I think I know who's been killing assassins."

"Is this the person you had Curtis check out?"

"Yeah." She picked up a picture and taped it to the board. "This is Christopher Henderson."

"Doesn't look so scary," Danny observed.

"He's a sick S.O.B.," Ava retorted. "I've tangoed with this guy, and it wasn't pretty."

"What happened?"

She paused for a second, even though she knew the question would come. "He lured me into a trap, and then made me fight some of his hired assassins."

"How did you get out of that?" Lindsay asked quietly.

Ava sighed. "I killed them. But Henderson got away before I could deal with him."

"So this guy's just been underground?" Stella asked.

"According to my sources, he's mostly been down in South America, stirring up trouble and getting rich off the drug trade."

"And now?"

"And now he's in New York."

"Do we have any idea where?" Angell asked.

"No. But," she held up a finger as she taped up three more pictures. "We know three of his henchmen. And we've got addresses for them."

Mac nodded. "Good work. Stella, you and I will take one. Flack, you and Ava take the next. Danny, I want you to go with Adam and Angell to question the third."

"What about me?" Lindsay asked.

"I don't want you out in the field."

"I second that," Danny said.

She sighed. "So because I'm pregnant, I don't get to do my job anymore?"

"If we get any trace, you can work in the lab."

"Men," she muttered.

******************************

In the end, all three suspects were arrested for assaulting a police officer. None of them had been interested in answering some 'simple questions,' and all of them had decided that the only way out of the situation was to fight their way out. And all three of them ended up in interrogation rooms, their hands shackled behind their backs.

"Talk to us, Jason," Ava said. "Just tell us where Henderson is and we'll leave you alone."

"And he'll kill me," the suspect spat. "I'm not lookin' to die this week."

"Forget it, Connelly," Flack said. "One of his buddies'll roll. We don't need him."

She shrugged and stood up, following her partner to the door.

"Ava Connelly," the suspect drawled. "I've heard of you."

She stopped, turning back around with her arms crossed over her chest. "Oh really?"

"Henderson has mentioned you…once or twice." He smirked at her. "You know…the man actually _admires_ you."

Ava moved back to her seat, knowing that Flack was right behind her. "Admires me?"

"You're the only one he's gone after who's actually lived to tell the tale." His eyes moved up to meet Flack's. "Do you know what your partner did to survive?" When he didn't reply, the suspect chuckled. "She killed a bunch of people. In cold blood."

Ava tensed, refusing to look at Don. "I did what I had to do."

"Henderson knew how much you hated killing people. And he managed to make you kill…what was it? Seven of 'em?"

Clenching her fists so that her hands wouldn't shake, she gave him a cold stare. "I still hate killing people. But I might make an exception for your boss."

"You're still against killing?" He raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Huh."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Flack asked, his body tense and his eyes narrowing.

Jason shrugged. "Ask your partner. Or better yet, ask Nina Myers. Oh wait. You can't." He grinned at Ava. "She killed her."

She stood up. "Alright. Obviously you have nothing useful to tell us."

"C'mon, Connelly…You shot her in the back. She was running away –"

"Go to hell," she snarled.

Without another word, she stormed out of the room, her hands shaking and her head spinning. She heard the door close behind her, and then Flack was there, hands on her shoulders as he led her to their office.

"You okay?" he asked, once the door was closed and they were alone.

She shook her head. "No."

His hands moved from her shoulders to her face, his thumb stroking her cheek gently. "You wanna talk about it?"

She gave him a small smile. "Not yet. After we catch this bastard, okay?"

"Okay." Flack kissed her forehead. "Let me take you out to dinner tonight?"

"That sounds really nice."

He frowned. "Is there a 'but' coming after that?"

Ava shook her head and chuckled. "No, no 'but.' I'd love to get dinner tonight."

Don smiled, and Ava couldn't help but notice the look of relief in his eyes. "Good," he whispered.

She leaned her head on his chest, letting herself take comfort in him, if only for a minute. Taking a deep breath, Ava knew that she needed to get herself back under control. No matter what the suspect did or said, she had a job to do, and she couldn't jump over the table and throttle him – no matter how much she wanted to.

Opening her eyes, she pulled back from Flack, preparing herself to go back into the interrogation room. But then her gaze landed on something on her partner's desk, and she froze.

"What is that?" she asked.

He turned his head to follow her gaze. "I, uh…"

Her hands were shaking again, but she moved closer to the desk, reaching out to pick up a picture.

"Don, what the hell is this?" she asked, vaguely aware that her voice was rising.

He sighed. "I been gettin' some mail lately. Notes left on my desk…the picture came this mornin'." Her hands were still shaking, and he frowned, tilting her chin so that she was looking at him. "Ava, what's wrong? You know the guy in the picture?"

Her eyes were filled with tears as she answered. "It's Tony," she whispered.


	19. Chapter 19

Ava stared at the picture, her chest constricting painfully. Her brain tried to make the connection, to understand why someone would send a picture of Tony to Don. But she couldn't seem to follow any of her thoughts to their logical end, and finally she just sank down into her partner's chair, still clutching the photo.

Flack knelt at her side. "Ava?" When she didn't answer him, he reached up and gently took a hold of her face. "C'mon, baby. Talk to me."

Her eyes finally focused on him, and she breathed deeply, forcing herself to calm down. She needed to be able to think clearly, and she couldn't do that if she didn't keep her emotions in check.

"Why would someone send you this picture?" she finally asked.

Don shrugged. "I don't know."

"You said there were notes?"

He frowned. "You sure you wanna see 'em?"

She reached out to touch his face. "I need to, Don," she said quietly.

He nodded and got to his feet, reaching around her to get to one of the drawers. In the very back, he seemed to find what he was looking for, and he pulled out a clear Ziploc bag. He grabbed a pair of gloves as well, and handed it all to her.

"Have you shown anyone?"

Flack shook his head. "No."

"Why not?"

He shrugged, and she immediately realized how tense he was. "Notes seemed personal," was the explanation he gave.

A knot forming in the pit of her stomach, Ava put on the gloves and opened the bag. Inside, she found two photos and five notes, the writing on each unfamiliar to her. Every one of them was addressed to Don, and they told him in various ways that he could never be what Tony had been to her.

The pictures were the last thing she looked at. The first was of her and Don, and it sent a chill down her spine. She remembered the day that Flack had first kissed her with perfect clarity, and the idea that someone had been there with a camera was disturbing.

The second picture was worse. It was a night in her life she knew she would never forget, the beginning of what she thought was the rest of her life. Whoever had snapped the photo was using expensive equipment, and even in the dark of night she could see the new ring adorning her finger. Her arms were wrapped around Tony tightly as they kissed, and for a moment, Ava could remember how that felt, down in the pit of her stomach.

But then she remembered Don, and the tense set of his face and shoulders as he handed her the bag. As difficult as it was for her to look at this picture from her past, it must have been even worse for him, forced to face how happy she had been with another man. Slowly, she put the notes and the pictures, including the new one of Tony, into the bag and resealed it, before taking off the gloves and getting to her feet.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I knew it would upset you. I was hoping…I was hoping the guy was just screwin' with me. That this wasn't about you."

He shook his head, and Ava moved closer, taking one of his hands in both of hers. "You're not competing with him, Don."

He looked down, and his voice was thick. "You were happy."

"I'm happy now," she said firmly. "With you." She shrugged. "My story with Tony is over. But my time with you has just started, and I can't wait to see where it goes, okay? Don't let this asshole get under your skin."

Flack chuckled at that and squeezed her hand. "You think it's Henderson?"

She sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised. Sick bastard, remember?" She nodded at the bag. "What do you wanna do about them?"

"Throw 'em back in the drawer."

"And if there are prints on them?"

Flack shook his head. "We both know there aren't, Ava." He sighed. "But if it's connected with the case…"

She squeezed his hand. "It's your call."

He nodded. "Let's get back to the suspects. After that…I'll talk to Mac, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan." Reaching up, she kissed him lightly. "C'mon, back to work."

****************************

"How's it going?" Ava asked as she came to stand next to Danny.

He nodded through the glass. "He ain't talkin'."

She frowned. "You let Ross sit in on the interrogation?"

Danny shrugged. "Good experience. Angell's doin' most of the talkin'."

"And this guy's not givin' us anything?"

"Made a few passes at Angell."

"How'd that go over?"

Danny grinned. "Not well." He paused. "Where's Flack?"

"Checking up on Mac and Stella. Maybe they're getting somewhere."

"Mac _is_ intimidating."

"I think it's the voice."

"And the eyes."

Ava glanced over at him with a smirk. "Been scolded a time or two?"

He chuckled. "Just a couple more times than you."

"Touché."

Danny opened his mouth to say something else, but the suspect on the other side of the glass chose that moment to make his move. With his hands still cuffed together, he yanked the heavy table towards him, just enough to pull Jess off-balance from where she had been resting her arms. Before she could recover, he pushed all his weight into it and sent it flying back into her, pushing her off the chair and onto the ground.

Then the suspect was up and charging at her. Danny and Ava rushed into the room, but found once they got in there that the situation was under control. As soon as the suspect made a run for Angell, Adam got in his way, shoving him to the side. The man got up and charged again, but Adam simply pulled his arm back and landed a hard punch to the side of his face, effectively knocking him to the ground. By that time, Angell had regained her feet and was already moving to cuff him.

"Bastard," she muttered.

"Are you alright?" Ava asked, still caught off-guard by everything that had just happened.

"I'm fine," she said, hauling the guy to his feet and tossing him to Danny. "Thanks to Adam, anyway," she added quietly.

"That was a nice shot, Ross," Danny said approvingly.

The lab tech blushed slightly. "Thanks."

Mac walked in then, frowning. "What happened?"

"Suspect decided to make a break for it," Jess explained as Danny hauled the attacker out. "Adam took him down."

His eyes widened slightly, and he nodded at Ross. "Our suspect tried to attack us as well."

"What?" Ava asked.

"And yours attacked the officer in the room. Flack got there in time, though."

Adam frowned. "Did they really think they could get out of here?"

Ava shook her head. "Maybe getting out wasn't their goal."

"Then what else would it be?"

"Committing suicide by cop?" Jess asked.

Ava nodded. "It's a possibility."

Mac sighed. "I'll put them all on suicide watch. Make sure our men know to use non-lethal force."

"Did you get anything useful from him?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Henderson has trained his men well. They're not afraid of us."

"Why would they be?" she asked. "Their boss is a sociopath."

"Which means we have no leverage." He looked down at his watch. "Alright, I want you guys to go home."

"But –"

"It's late," he said firmly. "We'll come back at this in the morning with fresh eyes, alright?"

"You don't have to tell me twice," Jess said. She looked over at Adam. "You gonna head out too?"

He nodded. "Yeah. 'Night guys."

"And you?" Mac asked when it was just him and Ava in the room.

She gave him a small smile. "I'm wiped and I have a headache. I'm outta here too."

"Good. Because otherwise I was going to have to have Don drag you out."

"See you tomorrow, Mac."

"Goodnight, Ava."

******************************

"You gonna come up?" Ava asked when she and Don reached her building.

His eyebrows shot up. "You're invitin' me up?"

She smirked. "I'm hungry. Jen is out with Hawkes, and I don't wanna eat alone. Of course, you have to promise to be good."

"My best behavior," he said, smiling widely.

"I hope so. I don't wanna have to kick your ass out if you get too frisky."

They headed upstairs, nodding to the doorman on their way in. Once they were in the apartment, Ava headed straight for the kitchen, intent on making spaghetti. Before she could even open the fridge, though, she sneezed loudly, sending Nightmare running in the opposite direction.

"Bless you," Flack said. "You okay?"

"Ugh. I'm starting to feel stuffy."

"Uh-oh. Gettin' a cold?"

"I hate colds."

He gave her a gentle smile. "So let me make dinner."

"But I want spaghetti."

"I make a damn good spaghetti, Connelly."

"But not my grandmother's."

"You got a recipe?"

"Yeah."

"I follow directions pretty well."

Ava rolled her eyes, but she pulled down a small box and flipped through it until she found the card with the recipe on it. Handing it over, she hopped up on one of the counter stools and watched him move around her kitchen.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

He flashed her a smile. "Not a problem." He started cooking, his eyes focused on the things he was pulling down from the cupboard. "Hey," he said slowly. "I got a question for you."

"I might have an answer."

Don smiled again, but this time Ava knew that he was nervous. "I, uh…I told my sister about you."

"Okay."

"She wants to meet you."

"Okay."

His eyebrows shot up. "Okay?"

Ava shrugged. "Yeah. I'm not afraid of meeting the family, Don. I'm actually really touched that you want me to meet them."

"Of course I do. You…you mean a lot to me, Ava."

"Trust me, the feeling's mutual." Her smile faltered a little. "I don't want you waiting for a reciprocal invite, though. I don't really have any family for you to meet. I mean, I've got a brother in Boston, and you're welcome to meet him whenever, but…"

He turned, wiping his hands on a towel. "That's all the family you got?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Is this somethin' you don't wanna talk about?"

She shook her head. "It's fine. I'm kinda tired of being an enigma."

"You'll always be an enigma, babe. It's one of your charms."

Ava blushed slightly. "Gee, thanks." Taking a deep breath, she swung her feet a couple of times. "Both my parents are dead. My mom in a car accident when I was younger, and my dad…"

She swallowed hard, and Don stepped forward until he was standing between her knees. "Hey, if you don't wanna…"

She shook her head again. "I can do this," she whispered. "My dad…he died a few years ago. He was, umm…he got shot. Turns out he had another son that I knew nothing about, and the kid turned out to be a psycho, and he killed our dad. Bullet to the head."

Flack let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Ava…"

"I was there, when it happened. He made me choose between my dad and Tony. And I chose Tony."

Don held her face in his hands and kissed her softly. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

She gave him a weak smile. "It actually feels kinda good. To tell somebody who wasn't there."

"Where's your brother now? The one who killed your dad?"

"Dead." She could see the question in Flack's eyes, and she answered him before he could ask it. "Tony killed him. Before the bastard could kill me."

"No wonder you got trust issues," he muttered.

That made her chuckle, and she leaned her forehead against his. "You're a pretty good guy, you know that?"

"Doesn't hurt to hear it now and then."

"I'll keep that in mind." She glanced over at the stove. "You better keep an eye on that meat."

"I don't wanna move," he murmured.

She kissed his chest through his shirt and then rested her head on his shoulder. "We can do this again after we eat. I've got a wonderful couch for cuddling."

"You're not gonna kick me out right after dinner?"

Ava smiled as he moved back to the stove. "Not right after," she murmured.


	20. Chapter 20

Ava's eyes fluttered open as she heard the apartment door open and shut. Glancing over at the clock, she saw that it was still early, but that she had better get up if she was going to make it to work on time. She rolled over and tried to push herself up into a sitting position, but every muscle in her body protested, and her head swam. Sighing in frustration, she fell back onto her pillows, pulling the blankets up around her.

There was a small knock on her bedroom door. "Ava?"

"Are you just getting home?" she asked, surprised at how funny her voice sounded in her own ears.

Jen blushed and came over to sit next to her on the bed. "Yeah."

Her friend glanced down at her feet. "But you're wearing sneakers," she smirked.

"Yeah, well…turns out I didn't need the heels."

"You're glowing."

Jen's blushed deepened. "I really like Sheldon."

Ava smiled sleepily. "I'm happy for you."

"So what did you do last night?"

"Flack came over and we had dinner and watched a movie."

"That sounds sweet."

"It was."

Jen frowned, looking over at the clock. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for work?"

"Yeah. Overslept."

"You feeling okay?"

"Not really, no."

Reaching out, she pressed the back of her hand to her friend's forehead, and her frown deepened. "I don't think you should go in."

"I have to."

"You're running a fever and you can barely keep your eyes open."

"We have a crazy sociopath on the loose killing people. I have to go in."

"And you and your fever are going to help how exactly?"

"It's just a cold."

"You're staying home."

"Mac will yell at me."

"He yelled at you last time you tried to work with a fever, too."

"That was because of the PCP."

Jen sighed and rolled her eyes, leaning over to pick up Ava's phone. "You're staying home, and that's that. If you give me any more crap, I'll call Curtis _and_ Flack."

"Bitch."

"Pot calling the kettle, sweetie. Now get some sleep and I'll call Mac."

Her eyes were closed before her friend had even finished her sentence.

****************************

"You busy?" Flack asked as he stuck his head into Mac's office.

The detective looked up. "You mean aside from trying to catch a man that doesn't seem to exist?"

"It's about the Henderson case." He hesitated. "I think."

Mac frowned and waved him in, waiting until he shut the door behind him. "What've you got?"

Don took a deep breath. "I've been gettin' some notes, lately."

"Notes?"

He held up the plastic bag holding the letters and pictures. "I don't know who sent 'em. But they seem to be aimed at me and Connelly."

Mac's frown deepened as he pulled out a pair of gloves and took the bag from Flack. Without speaking, he went through the contents, taking his time and inspecting each one carefully. Don wanted to sit down, but he knew that the older man wasn't going to be happy with him when he was done looking through the bag, and he thought it might be a better idea to just stay on his feet.

"How long have you been getting these?" Mac finally asked, his voice tight.

Flack winced slightly. "Coupla months."

He looked up, his eyes piercing. Then he held up the photo of Flack and Ava. "How long ago was this taken?"

"Just before I got the first note. 'Bout two months ago."

"You should have shown this to me immediately."

Don sighed. "I know –"

"No," Mac said firmly, his voice cutting as he pointed at the younger man. "With everything we know about Ava's past, and the dead bodies that have been piling up at our doorstep, you should have come to me sooner, Don. You know better."

That last line made Flack's jaw tighten, and he could hear his teeth grinding. "I know." Sighing, he shook his head. "Mac, I just didn't think –"

"You knew, Don. You knew that this wasn't some random jerk messing with you. You didn't want anybody else to read these, because they cut too close to home. You didn't even tell Ava, did you?"

"I told her last night. That's what made me come to you."

Mac stared at him for a moment longer and then dropped his gaze back to the contents of the bag. "How many people have touched these?"

"Just me, the first time I got 'em. From then on, I put 'em in the bag, and Connelly wore gloves when she looked through 'em."

"I'll send it all down to the lab for Adam and Lindsay to go through." He sighed, some of the anger draining out of him. "We probably won't get anything, anyway. If it _is_ Henderson, he's too smart to leave prints."

There was a knock on the door, and both men looked up to see Curtis Manning standing outside.

"That can't be good," Flack muttered as Mac waved the agent inside.

"Hey, Don," Curtis greeted before turning to the other man. "You Mac Taylor?"

"That's me. And you are?"

"Curtis Manning."

"Ava's friend from C.T.U."

"Yeah."

Flack frowned. "Is she okay?"

"As far as I know."

"She's fine," Mac said. "She's home and sick in bed. Jen called me a little while ago."

Don nodded. "She said she wasn't feelin' well last night. Must be pretty bad if Jen was able to keep her home."

Mac turned back to Curtis. "What can we do for you?"

"Ava's had me checking up on Christopher Henderson, trying to find out where exactly he is. All our sources would tell us is that he's in New York. Which isn't very helpful. She told me you rounded up some of his men and they refused to talk."

"That pretty much sums it up."

"Well, I finally got confirmation that he's in the city."

He pulled a file folder out from under his arm and passed it over to Mac. The detective opened it and picked up the large photographs that rested inside it. As Flack came to stand beside him and look over his shoulder, he flipped through them, taking in the image of an older man walking down a rainy Manhattan street. The picture was grainy, but it was obvious that this was the same man Ava had shown them. Henderson looked like any other person walking down the street, but Mac thought back to their latest crime scenes, and he knew that appearances in this case were incredibly deceiving.

"Where is this?" he finally asked.

"It's from a camera outside a bank over on Sixth."

"And you guys just happened to be looking through those pics?" Flack asked.

Curtis shook his head. "The bank's trying out some new facial recognition software, since they've started dealing with big clients overseas. They passed this set onto us because they had a questionable man come in, and Henderson happened to be in that stack. We got lucky."

"Not lucky enough," Mac said. "We still don't know where he is."

"We know he's here," the agent countered. "And that he's got a penchant for sick games. Trust me, he'll come out of the woodwork sooner or later."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Mac replied.

****************************************

Ava drifted in and out of sleep, the fever making her unclear as to what time it was, or what was going on. She vaguely remembered something about Jen heading out to the store to get her chicken soup and medicine, but she wasn't sure how long ago that had been. Burrowing deeper under her covers, she coughed a couple of times and tried to get her body to relax.

A door opened somewhere in the apartment, and her eyes fluttered open again. "Jen?" she called out, her voice hoarse.

Her eyes had just drifted shut again when there was a sound at the far end of the room, and she sighed, opening them again. When her gaze finally settled on the person standing there, she frowned slightly.

"Tony?"

His hair was shorter than the last time she had seen him, and he had a short beard and mustache. Wearing a leather jacket, he leaned against the doorframe, watching her with sad eyes.

"Hey," he said quietly.

Her frown deepened as her brain struggled to catch up. "You can't be here," she said finally. "You blew up. I saw it." Her mind finally latched on to something. "Fever dream," she muttered.

Tony nodded. "Yeah. I'm a little surprised you're still dreaming about me."

"Only sometimes," she replied, knowing that the vision wouldn't disappear until her mind was ready for it to. "I still miss you."

"I miss you, too."

"I'm seeing someone now." She wasn't sure why, but she thought it was important he know that.

"I heard," he replied, his voice hoarse.

"He's a good man," she assured him. "He takes care of me." She hesitated, her eyes drifting shut for a second. "I think I might be in love with him."

Tony stared at her for a moment. "I think you might be right."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be," he said gently. "We had our chance, Ava. God had other plans for us."

"We could have been happy, though…right?"

He nodded. "We would have been," he said firmly.

"I'm happy now, though, too. And I can't really feel bad about that."

"You shouldn't. You deserve to be happy. I want you to be happy."

"He's a good man," she said again, her eyes fluttering shut as she struggled to hold on to the dream.

Tony walked into the room and crouched by her bed, his brown eyes inches away from hers. "I know he is. It's okay to let me go, Ava. It's time to let me go."

She tried to reach out her hand. "I still love you."

"I love you too," he whispered. "I always will." He paused. "But you've got Don now. And you love him, too."

Ava frowned. "How did you know his name?"

"I know a lot of things," he murmured.

"I'm tired, Tony."

He nodded. "Go to sleep, sweetheart."

She gave him a small smile. "Bye, Tony."

The last thing she remembered before the dream faded away was a warm hand drifting through her hair. "Goodbye, Ava."


	21. Chapter 21

When Ava finally opened her eyes again, the sun had gone down, and the room was dark. She turned over onto her back as she slowly came awake, and she realized that her head didn't feel quite as stuffy as it had that morning. Hoping that her fever had finally broken, she leaned over and flipped on the lamp next to her bed.

"Feeling any better?"

She looked up to see Jen standing in the doorway, and she nodded.

"Much."

Her friend walked in and sat down on the bed. "I was thinking of making steaks for dinner."

"Mmm. Beef."

"Carnivore."

"Hell yeah." She stopped, frowning slightly.

"What?"

"I dreamed that Tony was here," she said slowly.

Jen's expression softened. "Oh, sweetie…"

Ava shook her head. "It wasn't a sad dream. I told him about Don…he said it was okay for me to love him. He told me I had to let him go."

"And then what?"

She gave her friend a sad smile. "And then he said goodbye."

"And you're okay with that?" Jen asked, watching her closely.

"Tony's dead, but I'm not. I'm moving on, living my life. And I'm happy with Don."

Jen smiled. "Good. Because he's coming over to check on you tonight. I told him he could eat with us. Sound good?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. You hop in the shower and I'll start cooking."

*************************

Jen sat on the bed for a few minutes after her friend got up and headed for the bathroom. She had been surprised to hear that Ava had dreamed of Tony. Watching her relationship with Flack grow over the past couple of months, she had finally seen her happy again. Ava had even stopped wearing Tony's cross, instead replacing it with one of her own.

Thinking of the necklace, her eyes immediately went to the jewelry box on Ava's dresser. Jen slowly stood up and moved across the room, until she could reach out and lift up the lid of the box. Her friend didn't buy lots of jewelry, but she had a few nice pieces. Her hand automatically strayed to the engagement ring, touching it lightly. Ava had been so happy then. In the back of her mind, Jen wondered if she would ever get rid of the ring – but at the same time, she wondered if she really had to.

A sudden thought striking her, Jen frowned and dug through the contents of the box. Tony's cross wasn't there. She could have sworn she saw Ava put it in there. Turning, she checked the other dresser, knowing that her friend sometimes left jewelry over there as well. But she couldn't find the cross.

Something tickled at the back of her mind, but there was a knock on the door before she could really explore it. Shaking her head, she went to let Flack in.

***********************

There was a quiet knock on the door. "You decent?"

Ava smiled as she turned around, zipping up her hoodie. "Hey, Don."

"Hey." He stepped completely into the room, half-closing the door behind him. "Jen says you're feelin' better."

She nodded. "Glad I have tomorrow off, though. I think another day in bed will do me some good."

Flack smiled, moving closer and reaching out to play with the zipper of her hoodie. "You a Yankees fan now?"

Ava shrugged. "I was never big into baseball before. But now that you've got me watching some games…"

"Yeah?"

She rolled her eyes. "They're a good team. With some really hot players. So I'm all for them."

"As long as you're not rootin' for the Sox."

"You'd probably have to break up with me then, huh?"

"I'd have to give it some serious thought," he replied, his grin wide and his eyes sparkling.

Ava smiled and reached out, resting her hand on his chest. "I love you," she said quietly. Don's smile faded, and he stared at her, his eyes searching. His silence started to worry her and she dropped her eyes, shrugging uncomfortably. "I just thought you should know –"

"I love you." His smile was back, though he looked a little dazed. "I didn't think you'd say it first."

Not knowing what else to say, she leaned up and kissed him softly. Don pulled her closer before raising his hands and tangling his fingers in her dark hair. Tilting her head gently, he deepened the kiss, moaning softly when her arms encircled his torso, pressing their bodies together. Things quickly became heated, and Flack moved forward, backing Ava against the nearest wall and pinning her there. One of his hands slipped under her hoodie, as she clutched at the back of his shirt with her fists. Eventually they had to break for air, both breathing heavily.

"Don," she whispered.

"DINNER!"

They both chuckled at Jen's interruption and then Don leaned down, placing soft kisses to her cheeks and forehead.

"I know," he said quietly. "I'm not tryin' to cross any boundaries. I promise."

"Good." She kissed him again, pulling back quickly. "Then let's go eat."

**************************

"I thought you said we had a scene," Mac commented as he followed Angell through the lab.

"We do."

"Then is there a reason we're going toward the morgue?"

She glanced over at him and shrugged. "The morgue _is_ our crime scene."

Before he could think of something to say in response, they were there, and Sid was standing in front of them, his arms crossed.

"This has never happened to me before, Mac."

The detective frowned. "I'm still not entirely sure what we're talking about," he admitted.

The medical examiner sighed and led him across the room to a large box. "I was about to perform an autopsy when two men came in with this box. They were dressed like the normal guys who bring bodies. I didn't pay them any attention."

Mac looked into the box, and his frown only deepened. A man lay inside, his shirt unbuttoned halfway, and his eyes staring up in death. A wooden stake was lodged in his chest, right into his heart.

"He was staked?"

"I checked with every precinct," Sid told him. "This body isn't from any scene that's been processed."

Angell grimaced. "We're thinking the murderer mailed it direct."

Mac's expression tightened. "Call Adam and Lindsay down here right now. Let's start processing."

****************************

Mac walked into the lab with Angell, surprised when he saw Stella working alongside Lindsay and Adam.

"I didn't think I assigned you to this case," he said, a small smile playing on his lips.

She rolled her eyes at him. "A dead body shipped to the morgue instead of dumped somewhere? Like you could keep me away."

He chuckled at that. "So what've we got?"

"Not much," Adam admitted. "I, uh…I dusted the entire box, inside and out…there's not a single print."

"And I asked Flack to call Ava's fed connection," Stella continued. "We've got another assassin, Mac."

"But why ship this one here?" Angell asked. "What's special about him?"

"So far, he's no different from the others."

"The stake to his chest is…well, it's weird, if nothing else," Adam said. "I mean…who does that?"

"I just talked to Sid," Angell said. "And that's definitely what killed him. And his tox screen came up clean."

"Any prints on the stake?" Mac asked.

"No," Lindsay sighed. "And there weren't any fibers in the box. But," she said, holding up a finger, "I did find one very small thing."

"I'm not sure size matters in this case."

She smirked at him and then led him over to another table. On it was the lid of the box the body had come in.

"The original box didn't have a lock," she explained. "There was a tiny manufacturer's logo etched into one of the hinges, and I followed it until I found the supplier." She saw Mac's eyebrows go up, and she held up her hand. "Don't get your hopes up. They sell these to a variety of stores, and there's no way to track where it went."

"You said the box didn't have a lock originally."

"Right. So the murderer, or someone he's working with, must have put it on. I examined the lock, and I found little tool marks that I was able to match."

His eyebrows shot up again. "To a specific tool?"

"Yes." She paused, enjoying the way he stared at her impatiently. "Remember the ice pick that killed our first assassin?"

"You're kidding," Angell said.

"Nope. There was a small scratch on its surface, and I was able to match it to the tool used on this lock."

"So our killer had already fit the lock onto the box before he killed his first victim."

"This guy is sick," Angell commented.

"And we're getting nowhere in catching him," Mac replied.

"But he did leave us a big clue."

They all turned to see Hawkes standing in the doorway, holding up a DVD.

"What's that?" Mac asked.

"Taped to the inside of the box. Looks like Henderson left us a message."

The detective sighed. "Get everyone in the AV room. Now."

****************************

Christopher Henderson stared out at them through the TV screen, his eyes cold and his lips curled in a cruel smile. Everyone on the team was there, except for Ava. Flack had called her a couple of times and gotten her voicemail – he figured she was sleeping her cold away. As he stared at the man on the screen, he could barely repress a shudder. Just knowing that he had killed those assassins, and knowing the ways he had taunted and tortured Ava, let him know that this was a very dangerous man.

"Hello, Detectives," he greeted, looking out at them. "If you're viewing this, it means you've gotten my package. I hope it arrived safely." He paused. "I know you've been looking for me, with Detective Connelly leading the way. I'm sure she's told you at least a little about our sordid past.

You want the deaths to stop. But even with all of your deductive reasoning and fancy toys of technology, you won't catch me. I've been playing this game for far too long. You want the deaths to stop, and it just so happens that I want something as well. But I will only speak with Detective Taylor, and Detective Connelly. I will not deal with any of the rest of you.

Think about it."

The image clicked off, and Hawkes stepped forward, ejecting the disc.

"Something wasn't right about that," Stella commented.

Danny shook his head. "He didn't give us a location, or a time, or a number, or anything. If he wants to talk to Mac and Connelly, how are they supposed to get in contact with him?"

"Did you examine the video yourself?" Mac asked Hawkes.

The C.S.I. nodded. "It's a plain white room, Mac. Nothing on the walls or the floor to indicate where he is, no windows. There's nothing else on the DVD, and no prints. It's clean."

Angell crossed her arms. "And we're back to the waiting game."

****************************

Ava sighed as she rolled over again. Her head had started to throb again as the day went on, and she knew that she wasn't quite healthy again. Eventually, she had taken a couple Nyquil, despite the fact that it was the middle of the afternoon, and decided that a nap would probably do her some good.

But she wasn't sleeping well. The medicine messed with her head and gave her funny dreams, and every time she woke up a little bit, she felt sluggish and fuzzy. Maybe she should have only taken one instead of the usual two.

Forcing her eyes open, she glanced over at the clock. There would be nothing good on TV at this hour, but she thought maybe she could pop in some of her Law & Order DVDs and relax on the couch. When Jen got home from work, they could make some comfort food for dinner and just hang out. Regardless, she couldn't spend any more time in her bed than she already had.

She threw the covers off of her and tried to sit up, but a shadow detached itself from the corner and came towards her. Before she could even react, a cloth was being held over her mouth, a hand clamping itself to the back of her head. Ava struggled as much as she could, but the medicine was still making her slow, and the bed gave her no help in a fight. Soon, her vision swam and the world went dark.

**************************

Mac sighed as he made his way to the locker room. Another late night spent in the lab, and he still wasn't any closer to getting a handle on Henderson. Moving down a small flight of stairs, he resolved to speak with Ava in the morning – there might be something in her past encounters with the man that could lead them to him, something that they were overlooking now.

As he made the turn towards the door, there was a small sound behind him. He didn't have time to turn around before something cracked against his skull and he crumpled to the floor, the last thought in his head the echo of Henderson's words.


	22. Chapter 22

Don slowly came awake as a loud noise made it into his head. His eyes fluttered open, and for a minute he just stared out into his dark bedroom, unable to figure out where the sound was coming from. Vaguely, drifting back to sleep, he wondered if it would go away if he just went back to sleep.

His eyes snapped open again as he realized that it was his cell phone ringing. Groaning, he rolled over and fumbled around his nightstand until he found it, flipping it open as quickly as he could.

"Flack," he grumbled.

"Rise and shine, buddy," Danny greeted.

"What time is it?"

"Early. But ya gotta get up. We got a dead doorman."

Don groaned again. "It's too fuckin' early."

"Ya gotta get up, Donnie," he repeated, his voice more serious now.

"Alright, alright," he said, pushing himself until he was sitting up, rubbing his eyes after turning on the light. "What's the address?"

"It's one ya know well."

Flack frowned. "What?"

Danny sighed. "It's Ava's apartment building, man. It's her doorman that's dead."

His head immediately clearing, Don flew out of bed, reaching for his pants. "I'm on my way."

**************************

"Where is she?" he asked as soon as he was out of the vehicle.

Danny held up his hands. "She's probably in bed, Flack. I knocked a couple times, called her cell…but you said she was sick."

"Where's Jen?"

"With Hawkes. Already talked to her, she's on the way." He nodded toward the building. "C'mon."

They ducked under the crime scene tape and went in through the main door. Behind the desk they saw the body, his uniform rumpled and bloodstained. Jess looked up as they came closer, and she pointed at the victim with her pen.

"His name is David Ferguson. He's been the doorman here for the past ten years."

"What killed him?" Flack asked.

"I'm thinking the bullet to the back of the head pretty much took care of it."

"Any witnesses?"

"None." She stopped, looking around the lobby. "How the hell does Connelly afford something like this?"

"Trust fund," he said dismissively. "Any leads yet?"

"We just got here," Danny explained. "But if it was personal, you'd think they'd go for the guy at home, wouldn't ya?"

"Wallet is gone," Angell said.

"But if you're here, stealin' the doorman's wallet is kinda…anticlimactic."

Flack shook his head. "I'm goin' to see Connelly."

Danny hurried to follow. "I'm comin' with ya!"

Ignoring the elevator, the two men made their way up the stairs instead, jogging up them. Don tried to push past the worry settling in the bottom of his stomach, but something about this didn't seem right. He just couldn't believe it was a coincidence that Ava's doorman had been killed right after they watched Henderson's tape.

When they reached her apartment, Flack knocked loudly, praying that she was still sleeping. But there was only silence on the other side of the door.

"Ava!" he called, knocking again.

When he still didn't get a response, he pulled out the key she had given him a few weeks before. His hands shaking slightly, it took him a second to get it in the lock, and then they were moving inside, both men with guns drawn.

"Ava!" he called again.

It didn't take them long to clear the apartment – it was obvious that no one was there. The feeling in his stomach had turned to dread now, and Flack felt like he was going to be sick.

It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't seen the cat. Moving over to the door, he shut it, hoping that she hadn't escaped. He checked all of her more obvious hiding places, and when he didn't find her, he got down on his hands and knees and checked under the couch.

"Hey, Nightmare," he whispered.

Reaching slowly, he pulled the cat out from under the couch, thankful that she didn't have any front claws. Her heart was pounding, and he held her tightly against his chest, trying to soothe her.

"It's okay," he whispered. "We'll find her, okay?"

"Don."

He turned at the sound of Danny's voice, and set Nightmare down on the couch before walking into the bedroom. The C.S.I. looked at his friend with a mixture of worry and sympathy as he pointed to the corner of the nightstand.

"Blood," he said quietly.

The apartment door opened and closed, and they both frowned.

"Guys?"

They walked back out into the living room to see Angell standing there.

"What's up?" Flack asked.

"We've got another problem."

"Another one?" Danny asked.

She nodded. "Stella just called. Mac is missing."

*************************

Flack was on the phone before he even had the SUV started. A part of him wanted to stay and help with the investigation, but he knew there was another avenue that they needed to try. Throwing the vehicle into drive, he shot down the street, not entirely sure where he was going.

"Manning."

"Curtis, it's Flack."

"Hey –"

"Connelly's missin'."

Curtis sighed. "Son of a bitch."

"You think it's Henderson?"

There was a pause. "I know it's Henderson."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Look, can you meet me at your place?"

Flack frowned as he took the next right and headed back to his apartment. "Yeah. Why?"

"Trust me, you'll want to see this. I'll be there in ten."

***************************

It only took Don five minutes to get back to his place, and he ran up the stairs, his body full of excess energy that he wouldn't be able to expel until they had a lead on Ava. His stomach growled as he paced the kitchen, and he knew he should eat something, but he was afraid he was going to be sick. Grunting in frustration, he grabbed a banana and quickly devoured it, telling himself that if he didn't eat, he might not be any use to anybody later on.

Curtis showed up just as he was tossing the peel in the garbage. He opened the door, and the big man came in, neither of them bothering with the pleasantries.

"The doorman to her building was found dead this morning," Flack explained without preamble. "Her apartment is empty, and there was blood on the nightstand."

"Jen?"

"Out with her boyfriend."

"The bastards didn't take the cat, did they? 'Cause I can see Henderson…"

Don shook his head. "Nightmare's scared, but she's fine."

Curtis nodded. "Alright." He put his bag down on the table and opened it up. Then he pulled out a piece of red construction paper, with letters that had been clipped out of magazines glued to the front. Flack reached out with a shaky hand and pulled it closer so that he could read it.

_Time for the new family to meet the old. Heartland Brewery. South Street._

Flack frowned. "Heartland Brewery…that's Ava's favorite steak joint."

"And it looks like Henderson knows that."

"He wouldn't be keepin' her there, though."

Curtis shook her head. "No. But he'd probably leave the next clue there."

"What is this? Some twisted scavenger hunt?"

The agent sighed. "Did Ava ever tell you about her brother?"

"The one in Boston, or the one that killed her dad?"

"I guess she told you then. Anyway, before he died, her brother left a series of puzzles – clues – for her, to lead her to the next bomb. Henderson seems hell bent on drudging up her past and mixing it all with her new life in New York."

"What is this guy's obsession, anyway?"

He shrugged. "She survived."

Flack looked at the note again. "So this old family and new family stuff?"

"Well you guys are her new family."

"Which would make CTU her old family?"

Curtis nodded. "I'm calling Chloe."

************************

"What's going on?" Bill asked as Chloe hung up the phone.

She bent down to pick up her suitcase, and the two of them continued walking. "Ava is missing, and so is her boss. And Curtis got a note from Henderson."

"What did it say?"

"That it was time for her old family to meet her new." She bit her lip. " I think we have to tell Jack."

"About Ava?"

The computer analyst shook her head. "About…well, the other thing."

Bill stopped, turning to face her. "Chloe…"

"It's over anyway. There's no harm in telling him."

He looked around, taking the time to gather his thoughts. "Do you think Henderson knows?"

"He's been sending Ava's boyfriend some taunting mail. So yeah, I think he knows."

The CTU director took a deep breath. "And with this new note, it sounds like we're going to need everyone."

Chloe nodded. "I think so."

Bill sighed. "He's not going to be happy, Chloe."

"I know."

"He's going to be angry. At both of us."

Something flashed in her eyes, but she looked him right in the eye. "We did what we had to, Mr. Buchanan."

"Alright. We'll call Jack when we get to the hotel."

They stepped out into the sunshine, surrounded by the noise and crowds of New York City. Waving down a taxi, Bill put their luggage in the trunk, and they melded into the sea of cars and people.


	23. Chapter 23

Flack drove, the layout of the city ingrained in him from a lifetime spent there. His mind raced as quickly as the vehicle, even as he tried to keep himself from imagining a worst case scenario. He knew, logically, that Henderson wouldn't want to kill them right away. He liked his games, and he liked to put people through the ringer. That, in and of itself, was probably keeping both Mac and Ava alive.

But a small voice kept saying _what if_. What if he was too late? What if he lost her? Don was fairly certain that would break him. He hadn't meant to fall so hard for her, but his pulse quickened whenever he saw her, and wanted to just reach out and touch her every time they were in the same room. He had never been in love like this, and he couldn't lose her. His determination weighed down on him, and the car lurched forward, propelled by his heavy foot on the gas.

When they reached Heartland Brewery, both men were out of the vehicle in a heartbeat. But they stopped on the sidewalk, looking around at the people passing them.

"Now what?" Don asked. "I'm not even sure what we're looking for."

Curtis led him up the steps of the restaurant. "We start with the bartender, and we go from there."

Once they were inside, it took a moment for their eyes to readjust to the lower lighting. Then the agent turned to his left and approached the bar.

"Help you, sir?"

"Yeah. You got a message for an Agent Manning?"

The man frowned. "I'm sorry, sir, I don't."

Pounding the counter gently, Curtis turned away. "Thanks anyway."

Flack frowned as the big man went past him, and then stepped up to the bar. "What about a Detective Flack?"

"You're Detective Flack?"

They turned to see one of the waitresses standing nearby. Don nodded.

"Yeah, that's me."

"Some guy came in earlier, and asked if we could hold onto something for you. I was going to say no, in case it was dangerous, but it was a small envelope…" She reached behind the hostess stand and pulled it out, handing it to him. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

They went back outside before turning the envelope over and opening it up. Flack noticed that his hands were shaking slightly and he took a deep breath, willing them to stop. They didn't.

_Belvedere Castle._

Flack looked up, his blue eyes pained. "Promise me this isn't some wild goose chase," he said quietly.

Curtis dropped his gaze. "Let's go."

***************************

Despite the traffic, it still only took them fifteen minutes to reach Belvedere Castle, nestled in Central Park. Don flashed back to the time he had taken Ava here for a picnic, and he wondered if Henderson had followed them everywhere that they went. The very idea made him sick to his stomach, and his hands clenched on the steering wheel as he thought of what he'd like to do to the man.

It took them longer this time to find the next clue. Flack's first instinct was to run to the top of the tower, letting them look out over the Park. But both men searched every inch of the stone, and found nothing. Panic knotted inside of his chest, threatening to break out and render him immobile.

"Let's ask inside," Curtis said, seeing the look in the other man's eyes. "He probably left it like he did at the restaurant."

On the second floor of the castle, they found an older woman moving about a room, rearranging Discovery Kits and reference materials. She looked up when they entered, a polite smile on her face.

"Are you looking for Mr. Henderson?" she asked.

They stopped cold at the name, staring at the woman in disbelief. Curtis was the first to recover, and he stepped forward.

"Yes we are. Have you seen him?"

She nodded. "He was here awhile ago, told me he was waiting for a couple of gentlemen, but that he had an emergency with his daughter and had to leave."

"His daughter?" Flack asked, his voice hoarse.

"Oh yes," she smiled. "He showed me a picture, told me her name was Ava. Beautiful girl."

"Did he say anything else?" Curtis pressed.

She held up a finger. "Oh, that's right! He left a box for you."

Curtis thanked her as she handed them a wooden heart-shaped music box. For a moment, both men frowned at it in confusion, until Flack nodded toward the door. Once they were back outside, the sun warm against their backs, they focused their attention once again on the box.

"He wouldn't stick a bomb or somethin' in there, would he?" Don asked.

Curtis thought for a minute, and then shook his head. "Henderson likes games. He took Ava because he wants to hurt her. Anything he does to her or to us, he would want to do in front of the other."

Slowly, he opened the lid, his frown deepening when he saw a little ballerina inside and heard music drifting through the air. Another note was resting inside, and Flack reached in to pull it out.

"You'll have to break her heart to save her," he read. "What the hell does that mean?"

The agent shook his head as he tried to think, but the music was distracting. He went to close the box, but just before he did, something struck him, and he pulled the lid open again. Closing his eyes, he focused on the notes, working his way through them.

"It's Queen," he murmured.

"What?"

"The song…'Who Wants to Live Forever.'"

"You know it?" he asked.

Curtis nodded, his eyes opening and meeting Flack's. "It was Tony and Ava's song."

His words hit the detective hard, and he stared at the twirling ballerina in disbelief. Henderson wasn't just playing with Connelly – he was playing with everyone, dragging up memories and digging at wounds.

"Break her heart," he whispered.

Suddenly, he reached out and snatched the music box from Curtis' hands and threw it to the ground as hard as he could. The music warped before coming to an end, and Flack kicked the pieces aside until he found another piece of paper. Bending down, he picked it up and unfolded it.

"What does it say?" Curtis demanded.

Flack's mouth tightened into a thin line. "It's an address. But I don't think this one's just a clue."

"Why not?"

Their eyes met. "'Cause this one says 'Game on.'"

*************************

Don made the call to Stella as they left Central Park.

"Bonasera."

He could hear the tightness in her voice, the same tightness that he knew was in his own. "Stell, we got an address."

"What? Where?"

"44th Drive in Long Island City. Curtis had Chloe look it up – it's a warehouse right on the water."

"Alright, we're coming out there –"

"Make sure you come quiet, Stell. I don't want this guy to hear the whole force comin' after him. We don't need to give him any more reasons to pull the trigger."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, and he could almost see her standing there, one hand on the desk as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"We're on our way."

He hung up the phone and looked over at Curtis, who was just ending his own conversation.

"Looks like Chloe and Bill are already in New York," he said.

"Why?"

The big man shook his head. "They hedged. But I don't have time to worry about that right now. They put a call out to Jack Bauer as well."

"Is he still in Boston?"

"Trust me, he can get here in record time. They called him a few hours ago." He frowned. "I don't suppose Ava's been to Long Island City?"

"Not that I know of."

Curtis shook his head again. "All of the other clues led us to somewhere that meant something to her. So why is the final location some anonymous warehouse?"

Flack thought for a minute. "You think it's a trick?"

"I just think we better keep our damn eyes open."

**************************

Flack knew that they would beat the others by at least five minutes – but that didn't mean that he had any intention of waiting for them. He couldn't just sit out in the car and watch the place where Ava was being held. He needed to go in there, and do everything he could to bring her out safely. Glancing over at the federal agent sitting beside him, he knew that Curtis felt the same way. The two men shared a brief look, and then a nod, and headed toward the warehouse.

They passed no resistance on their way in, and that bothered them both. Henderson was no idiot, and the last clue hadn't been a difficult one. He had to know that they were coming for him, and yet he was letting them get entirely too close. Don wondered what the man's endgame was, and voice in the back of his head asked if any of them were going to get out of this alive.

As soon as they passed through the side door into the warehouse, they stopped, staring around them in disbelief. The building was one huge room, completely empty.

"A trap…?" Don asked.

Curtis held up a hand to silence him. For a long moment, they just stood there, their ears straining and their hearts pounding.

"There," he whispered.

Flack shook his head – he didn't hear it.

Curtis gestured to the right. "This way."

Still not sure where they were going, the detective followed his companion as they edged along the wall. There was a small office in the corner, and Curtis looked through the dirty windows to make sure that it was empty. When he was convinced, he eased the door open and slipped inside, his eyes immediately going to the area rug underneath the desk chair.

"They're below us," he said quietly. "I think I know now why he chose this place."

Flack frowned. "Why?"

"Did she ever tell you what Henderson put her through?"

"Yeah."

"It was set up like this. Underground. She walked right into a trap." He paused. "He's making her relive his favorite moment with her."

Don moved the chair and kicked aside the carpet. "Let's go get her then."

*************************

The shot came out of the darkness, and Don immediately knew that there was a silencer attached to it. Curtis went down with a grunt, his gun clattering to the floor as his hands went to his right thigh. By the time Flack was on his knee next to him, gun pointed into the shadows, the agent had already ripped off part of his shirt and started to tie it around the wound. When he was finished, he nodded to the tunnel the shot had come from.

"Looks like they don't want us going down that way."

"They're herding us," Flack realized.

"Right now, this is Henderson's game. He knows we're here, but he doesn't know about anyone else. Let's hope they can catch him by surprise."

"That's an awful lot to hope on."

"We don't have a choice," he bit out, wincing in pain. "I'm not losing her, Flack. And I know you're not either. So let's go."

Using the wall and Flack for leverage, Curtis pushed himself back to his feet and then picked up his gun. They moved cautiously down the tunnel branching off to their left, the only light from the torches set along the wall. Before they made it very far, though, there was the sound of footfalls behind them. Flack wheeled around, his gun at the ready, but the firelight rested on their followers, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Stell?" he whispered.

"I should have known you'd never wait for backup," she hissed. "Danny and Angell are with me. I've got cops outside securing the perimeter."

He nodded. "Curtis was shot, but he's still goin'. This way."

They continued on, the tunnel winding as it headed toward its destination. The light in the small space began to change, and the group slowed down even more, realizing that they were coming to the end. One more turn, and they were suddenly in a large room, with more torches along the wall. A dozen men stood all around, their guns trained on them as they emerged from the tunnel. And right in front of them was Henderson, with two hostages kneeling in front of them. Mac's arms were bound tightly behind his back, and his face was covered in bruises and blood.

Henderson had a knife to Ava's throat.

"Welcome!" he boomed, his voice filling the room. "I was worried that you weren't going to make it."

Flack stared at Ava in disbelief, his chest constricting. Her eyes were dark, and he could tell that she wasn't up to her usual level. She met his gaze and he saw how tired she was, how worn out her body was. Henderson hadn't bound her hands, and she leaned forward slowly, resting her palms down on the cold concrete, as though she didn't have the strength to push herself up.

He heard Stella gasp beside him, and he knew she was feeling the same things he was, her eyes glued to Mac.

"You're both foolish," Henderson continued, his eyes locked on the two detectives. "You've fallen in love with people who gave their hearts away a long time ago. It doesn't matter that they are dead now – they still hold your lovers' hearts. They always will."

His eyes were somehow even colder than his smile as he turned his focus exclusively on Flack. "Don't you see? I didn't even have to bind her hands, Detective. She has no more fight in her." He paused. "You're not enough to make her want to live. Without Tony…everything else is just shades of grey. You'll never be enough."

**********************

As she heard his words, Ava's head came up slowly. The cold medicine was still in her system, and it had made her responses sluggish. But she breathed deeply, and forced her body to stay alert. She would only get one chance.

She wanted to look into Don's eyes and let him know that Henderson was wrong. But he was staring at her captor, and she could see the hurt flashing across his face, and she cursed the man behind her, who was taking so much pleasure out what he was doing.

Glancing to her left, she instead met Mac's gaze. She blinked once, slowly, and knew that he understood her. Knew that he was ready.

Ava put more of her weight down onto her hands, letting Henderson think that she had been beat. But as he continued to taunt Flack, she slowly let her left hand slide down to the top of her boot and reached in, pulling out the small knife. As she opened the switchblade, she thought back to Bill's admonitions and smiled – she never had been one to follow the rules.

Henderson was still talking when she made her move. Twisting her upper body and swinging her arm, she drove the knife deep into his belly. His words ended abruptly, and he stared down at her disbelief for half a second before bringing his own weapon to bear. She dove to the side and rolled out of the way, pulling Mac with her as she went.

Everything erupted. Henderson's men rushed forward, their guns held up and ready. Her team moved at the same time, firing shots and trying to get Ava and Mac away from their captors. Ava undid the ropes tying his hands but then got to her feet, joining the fight. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Danny had lost his gun, but he was going toe-to-toe with someone, his fists proving more accurate that the spew of gunfire filling the room.

But no matter how hard they fought, the simple fact was that they were outnumbered. Danny had managed to take down one adversary, but was struggling with the second, the man far outweighing him. Looking around, Ava saw that Angell was lying facedown on the ground, her gun missing. Her own body was weakening as well, and she cried out as she turned and saw Flack fall to one knee, his attacker holding up a knife.

A new barrage of gunfire filled the room, two of the bullets catching Flack's opponent, but this time it came from the far end. Ava spun around again, knowing that if Henderson had reinforcements, it was over for them. Instead, she found herself unable to breathe, the room swimming.

Five people had burst into the room, all of them armed. She stared in shock and relief and confusion as she took them in, one by one. Jack stood between Chloe and Bill, his face contorted in rage and barely-contained violence.

"HENDERSON!" he roared.

And then the other two came out from behind her three friends, and the plank of wood she was using for a weapon fell from her hands. From the corner of her eye, she saw Curtis fall to his knees, a tear falling from his eyes.

"I was hoping you could make it," Henderson gasped, his hand trying to stem the tide of blood coming from his stomach.

Tony glowered at him as Michelle came up to stand beside him, both with their guns trained on the man. "Glad we could oblige."


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Only one more chapter after this. I just want to thank everyone who reads and leaves feedback. You guys are awesome, and I have loved writing this story. Last chapter should be posted soon. **

He had changed, but he was still familiar to her. The short hair, the stubble, the leather jacket…Suddenly, things began to fall into place, and her chest constricted in realization.

Just as his eyes met hers, though, Henderson's men attacked again. She noted with relief that Don was up and fighting once more, but that was the only thought she had time for. Henderson lunged for her and she dove out of the way, turning to face him as he prepared for another assault.

As he came at her again, Ava let out all the hurt and anger that had been building in her since she was kidnapped. She may have been weakened before, but the adrenaline was kicking in now, and she was mostly just pissed. Throwing hard punches, she pushed Henderson backwards; with the wound in his stomach, he was unable to do much damage.

She knew that she could have stopped. One more direct hit to his face, and he would have been unconscious. They could lock him up, and he'd hopefully never see the light of day outside of prison walls ever again. But she couldn't make her arms stop. This man hadn't only hurt her – he had dragged Mac and Stella and Don and Curtis into it as well – and that anger she had inside of her fueled her on.

Her next hit knocked him to the ground, though, and this time, he didn't get back up. His shirt was completely soaked in his own blood, and his breathing was shallow as he looked up at her and chuckled.

Ava frowned. "What the hell are you laughing at? It's over, Henderson."

"Is that what you think?"

She finally looked around, and saw her friends finishing up his men. Some were dead, and others were being restrained. The fight was over.

"The way I see it," she said slowly, "is we won. You got nothin' left."

He coughed a few times, his skin ashen. "Then I guess there's only one thing left for me to do."

"And what's that?"

"Take him from you again."

Everything stopped for Ava, and then proceeded in slow motion. A small step beside her, and she turned her head just in time to see one of Henderson's men back on his feet, a plank of wood in his hands. The swing was already halfway through, and there was no stopping it or getting out of it's way as it connected with her side. The hit was so hard that her feet left the ground and sent her through the air.

Before she even hit the ground, she saw Henderson roll over and push himself to his feet, the strength almost beyond him. As her own body made contact with the concrete floor, he reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a gun, one that he hadn't used during their fight. He raised the weapon and pointed it straight at Tony, a cold leer on his face as his finger reached the trigger.

Shots fired, but it was Henderson's body that convulsed with each bullet. The wind knocked out of her, Ava struggled to find the shooter, and her eyes finally landed on Don. He stood across the room, both hands gripping his gun, his blue eyes hard. He stared at Henderson as the man collapsed to the ground, his own weapon sliding out of his lifeless fingers.

*************************

"Michelle?"

She was by his side in less than a heartbeat, her brown curls framing her face as she took his hand in hers.

"I'm right here, baby," she whispered, tears falling down her face. "I'm right here."

The paramedics began strapping him onto the gurney, working around her.

"How?" he asked, his face lined with confusion and pain.

She shook her head. "Long story." Bringing his hand up, she kissed his fingers. "I'm so sorry," she breathed, her voice breaking. "Please, Curtis –"

He squeezed her hand again. "Are you going away again?"

"No," she said firmly. "I'm never leaving you again, baby."

He gave her a small smile as they lifted the gurney into the back of the ambulance, and Michelle climbed up beside him. "Then it doesn't matter." His eyes fluttered shut for a moment. "I don't know how much longer I would've made it without you," he murmured.

She leaned down and kissed him softly before moving her mouth to his ear. "I'm here now, baby. Just hang on, okay? Don't leave me now."

The doors were shut and the sirens roared to life as the ambulance pulled away from the warehouse.

***************************

Ava watched the ambulance disappear down the road, her friends safely inside. A small pain that had been weighing on her heart for the past year slowly lifted away, and she knew that Curtis was finally going to be alright. It had been so hard to watch him slowly fade away, and she was out of ideas for keeping him connected to this world. But he would make it now.

Taking a deep breath, she turned to look at Tony, standing a few feet away. His eyes had been on her the entire time, and she knew that she couldn't put him off any longer.

"Hey," she said quietly, her voice tired.

"Hey."

"This is not how I expected my day to end," she admitted.

"Neither did I."

She paused, her head pounding. "It was you, wasn't it? In my apartment the other night? I thought it was a fever dream."

Tony nodded, his eyes sad. "I needed to see you. I wasn't…I wasn't planning on coming back."

"Coming back from where?' she asked. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Running an undercover op. Deep undercover. They didn't even tell us we were going, not until we were already in the car behind you –"

Ava held up a hand, her mind filling with the memories of watching the car explode. "You weren't gonna come back?"

He shook his head. "You moved on, Ava," he said quietly.

Her eyes were suddenly filled with tears and she threw her hands up. "What the hell was I supposed to do, Tony!? You were dead! And now…"

She shook her head and looked around. She was surrounded by two different parts of her life, her past and her present colliding. Bill had found his way over to Mac and the two were talking, the latter's arm around Stella's waist for support. Jack and Chloe were sitting in the back of another ambulance, the former CTU agent cleaning a wound on her forehead. Angell sat nearby, with Danny crouching beside her and holding an icepack to her head.

And Don…she turned her head to the left and saw him standing close by. His tall frame was slouched slightly, and she could tell that he was hesitant, unsure of whether or not he should be there. He didn't meet her gaze, instead keeping his hands in his pockets and his head down as he waited for something to happen.

Ava took a few steps forward until she was standing between the two men, where they could both hear her. Looking from one to the other, she let her tears fall and then finally shook her head.

"I need some time," she whispered. "I…I can't…" She shook her head again. "I need to think."

Without letting either of them say anything, she turned and walked away from them, disappearing into the city and into her own thoughts.


	25. Chapter 25

***So this is the last chapter of this story. It's been a blast to write, and I'm sad (though relived at the same time, lol) to see it come to a close. Thank you to everyone who's read and to everyone who has reviewed as well. I'm glad you guys enjoyed this one, and I hope you like the final chapter as well. The song at the end is by Evanescence***

********************** **

For a long time she walked. Her mind had ceased to use coherent sentences, and now all she could see were the faces of the two men she loved, standing side-by-side. That was something she never thought she'd see, but her worlds had collided, and now she had to find her way all over again.

She didn't know what to think. The idea that Tony might still be alive had never even crossed her mind, and it took her awhile to accept that it was in fact, true. She had seen him with her own eyes – and more importantly, everyone else had seen him as well. He was alive, and he was back, and everything she thought she knew before had gone out the window.

He had said he wasn't planning on coming back. Ava remembered back to their conversation – the one she had thought was a fever dream. His eyes had been sad, sadder than she'd ever seen them before, but he had told her it was okay to be happy with Don. He had let her go.

Did that still stand?

Wiping away a tear that had made its way down her cheek, she finally looked up, knowing she had probably managed to get herself lost. She looked around the unfamiliar street, and when her eyes rested on a church just north of her, she immediately turned in that direction and continued her walk.

************************

It was almost two hours later that she was fitting her key into the lock, and opening the door of her apartment. Jen was pacing across the kitchen, her cell phone pressed against her ear. As soon as she saw her friend, though, she stopped and stared at her.

"I'll call you back, hun," she said before hanging up the phone. "Where have you been?"

"I needed to clear my head."

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" she asked, her voice rising slightly. "I find out that you were kidnapped, and then Hawkes takes me to the lab while they try and find you, and then I finally get word that you were okay, but that you'd disappeared!"

Ava looked at her with tired eyes. "Are you really going to lecture me right now?"

Jen stared at her for another moment and then sighed. "No. Are you okay?"

She shook her head, and tears began to fall down her face. "No," she whispered.

Jen was there in an instant, hugging her friend tightly and letting her finally cry. All the pain of the day – getting kidnapped, watching them beat Mac, seeing Tony again, seeing the look of heartbreak on Don's face – finally came to the surface, and there was nothing she could do to hold back the flood. Clinging to her roommate, Ava cried as hard as her heart wanted.

It was a long time before she was out of tears, and then Jen led her over to the couch. Curling up in a ball, Ava waited for Nightmare to jump up into her lap, and then petted her for a few minutes, trying to get her thoughts back in order.

"I guess you know about Tony?" she finally asked, her voice hushed.

Jen nodded. "Yeah, Hawkes told me."

"You don't seem very surprised."

"It kind of made sense." When Ava looked at her sharply, she held up a hand, silently asking her to wait. "Remember when you had the fever dream?"

"You mean the one that wasn't really a dream?"

"Yeah," Jen replied quietly. "That one. After you told me about it, I was looking through your jewelry box…and I couldn't find Tony's cross."

Ava frowned. "You think he took it?"

She shrugged. "If he was really letting you go…" The other woman nodded, and they sat in silence for a minute. "What are you going to do?" Jen finally asked.

"What do you think I should do?"

"You know I can't answer that question for you," Jen said, her voice sad. "All I can tell you is that both of them love you."

"That's not exactly helpful."

"Isn't it, though? No matter where you go, you'll be loved. Completely."

"But that doesn't mean that they're both the right choice."

"No. I guess it doesn't." She shrugged. "I think there's only one question left you have to ask yourself."

"And what's that?"

Jen looked at her steadily. "Which one has your heart?"

Ava nodded slowly. "That's the question I came down to."

"And can you answer it?"

"I can now."

"So what are you going to do?"

Ava got up from the couch and headed back into her bedroom. She came out a moment later with a sweatshirt one, and a peaceful look on her face.

"I have to go talk to Tony," she said.

***************************

He was staring out over the water when she got there, the sunset casting the sky in brilliant colors. Her chest still constricted at the sight of him, but it wasn't as painful as before.

"The Brooklyn Bridge, huh?" he asked, somehow knowing that she was there.

"Pretty view," she explained.

"Can't argue with that." He looked around. "Not exactly private, though."

She came up to stand beside him, leaning on the rail. "This city's not big on privacy."

"So I've noticed."

They were quiet for a long time after that. People walked past them and cars drove by, the sounds of the city filling the silence between them. The sunset slowly faded into evening.

"Do you still love me?" Ava asked suddenly, finally.

Tony nodded, but didn't look at her. "Yes."

"But you were ready to let me go."

"You're happy with Flack. I had Chloe check him out when you got partnered with him. You couldn't have picked a better guy."

"And if I told you that I wanted to try things with you again?"

His jaw tensed. "Then I would give it everything I had." He finally turned, leaning back against the rail and looking over at her. "But you're not choosing me."

She turned her head and met his eyes. "How did you know?"

Tony shrugged. "I know you."

Ava looked back out over the water again. "It's been too long, Tony," she finally said. "I've been through so much, and…I'm not the same person I was before. I don't think either of us is." She shrugged, her eyes filling with tears. "And I don't think I can sacrifice this amazing thing I have now, on the off chance that we might be able to get back to the amazing thing we had."

"You're making the right decision," he said quietly. "We both know that."

A tear slid down her cheek. "I still don't wanna hurt you."

He reached out, resting his hand on her cheek, his thumb brushing against her skin. "Which hurts more, Ava?" he asked. "The idea of walking away from me? Or the idea of walking away from him?"

She gave him a sad smile, her hand coming up to cover his. "I already said goodbye to you once."

"Makes it easier the second time, doesn't it?" he asked gently.

"Easier to know that I'm choosing the right path." She frowned. "Does this mean I don't get to see you again?"

He shook his head. "I'll always be there when you call. You know that." He paused. "I'm not staying in New York, though."

"I didn't think so. Manhattan doesn't really seem your style. You'll let me know, though? Where you end up? How you're doing?"

"Of course."

She reached into her pocket then, and pulled out her engagement ring. "I have to give this back," she said, setting it into the palm of his hand. "I remember how happy I was that night." Looking up, she searched his eyes. "We would have been great, Tony."

He nodded, and a tear slid down his cheek. "Guess God had different plans for us, though."

Biting her lip, Ava wrapped her arms around his torso and held him tightly. There was no hesitation as he returned the embrace, and for a moment, the rest of the world fell away as they reunited. Ava breathed him in deeply, noticing the way he still smelled like Tony, but how there was something new there as well. They really were different people now, and it was time to let go of the past.

They finally pulled back, and Tony took her face in his hands, staring at her. Then he leaned in and kissed her softly, barely a whisper against her lips.

"Goodbye, Ava," he whispered.

She squeezed his hands one last time and then let them go. With her past behind her, she turned and walked away, disappearing into the night.

*********************************

Danny banged on the door again, knowing that sooner or later one of the neighbors was going to complain.

"C'mon, man! Let me in!"

"Having issues, Messer?"

He nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned around and saw Ava standing there, a smirk on her face.

"What the hell are you doin' here?" he asked.

"Don't you have a key?"

He frowned. "Left it at home. Thought the bastard would let me in."

"You sure he's in?"

Danny nodded. "Mac drove him here. Didn't think he should be drivin'." He narrowed his eyes. "You gonna go in there and break his heart?"

"Why would I do that?"

"I don't know. Maybe 'cause the love of your life came back from the dead?"

Ava moved past him and stopped in front of the door, pulling out her own spare key. "For the record, Danny," she said, sticking her key in the lock, "the love of my life is in this apartment."

He stared at her for a minute and then smiled. "You're not leavin' him?"

She smiled back. "Goodnight, Danny."

Without waiting for a response, she walked into the apartment, shutting the door and relocking it behind her. She turned and saw Don sitting in his recliner, his feet in the air and a beer in his hands.

"Finally remember your key?" he asked dully.

Ava walked forward, slipping her shoes off. "I never forgot it."

His eyes widened and his head jerked around when he heard her voice. Staring at her in disbelief, he was silent as she looked down at him.

"Are you drunk?" she asked.

He shook his head, finally finding his voice. "This is only my second one."

Ava nodded and took it from his hands, setting it down on the coffee table. Without a word she climbed up into the chair, her body wrapping around his as she laid one arm across his chest. Looking up at him, she studied his blue eyes, seeing the pain and resignation and heartbreak clearly. Then she raised herself up slightly and kissed him, her hand sliding up his chest and around the back of his neck. Flack kissed her back, his mouth opening under hers almost immediately, and they sank into each other. He kept his eyes closed when they finally pulled back, his forehead leaning against hers.

"That didn't feel like a goodbye kiss," he whispered.

Ava stroked his face until he opened his eyes again. "That's because it wasn't," she said firmly.

He frowned, searching her eyes. "But…you love him."

She nodded. "I do. But I love you too, Don." She kissed him again. "He's my past," she murmured. "And you…you're my now. And my future. I don't wanna be anywhere that's not with you."

His eyes filled with tears. "You…you really choose me?"

"I choose you," she reassured him, a small smile on her face.

He rested his head against the back of the chair, and she could feel the tension seeping out of his body. "I thought for sure I'd lost you," he said. "I didn't even know if you'd come say goodbye…"

"I would have," she interrupted. "If I had gone with him, Don, I wouldn't have just left you hanging."

He looked at her closely. "So you said goodbye to him?"

"Yes."

"Will you stay tonight?" he asked, his voice hushed.

Ava smiled. "Of course. Close your eyes, Donnie. I'll still be here in the morning."

She wrapped her arms around him again and held him closely as his eyes fluttered shut. His grip on her was tight, and the warmth from his body was comforting. Running her fingers gently through his short hair, she took a breath and began to sing softly, feeling as though she had finally come home.

_The words have been drained from this pencil _

_Sweet words that I want to give you _

_And I can't sleep _

_I need to tell you _

_Goodnight _

_When we're together, I feel perfect _

_When I'm pulled away from you, I fall apart _

_All you say is sacred to me _

_Your eyes are so blue _

_I can't look away _

_As we lay in the stillness _

_You whisper to me _

_Baby, marry me _

_Promise you'll stay with me _

_Oh you don't have to ask me _

_You know you're all that I live for _

_You know I'd die just to hold you _

_Stay with you _

_Somehow I'll show you _

_That you are my night sky _

_I've always been right behind you _

_Now I'll always be right beside you _

_So many nights I cried myself to sleep _

_Now that you love me, I love myself _

_I never thought I would say this _

_I never thought there'd be_

_You_


End file.
